


17 Days of VexTan

by AutisticWriter



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [29]
Category: Yonderland (TV)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Alcohol, Awkwardness, Background Vice-Elder Flowers/Lord Elder Pressley, Birthday Party, Coming Out, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Double Dating, Drunkenness, Episode Related, Established Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gender Dysphoria, Ho-Tan is Trans, Holding Hands, Hugs, Kissing, LGBTQ Themes, Love, Memories, Nudity, One Shot Collection, Prompt Fill, Rain, Romance, Self-Discovery, Sharing a Bed, Shopping, Silly, Singing, Sleepy Cuddles, Stargazing, Sweet, Third Wheels, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Tumblr Prompt, VexTan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2018-12-22 22:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11976255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: A collection of VexTan one shots.





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allineedisaquill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allineedisaquill/gifts).



> Gifted to allineedisaquill because we need more VexTan in the world and their fics are wonderful.
> 
> Inspired by these prompts: [The 30 Day OTP Challenge ](http://otp-imagines-cult.tumblr.com/post/133309701572/30daychallenge1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day One, Meeting: The first time your OTP met. Introduced through a mutual friend? An accident?

“So,” Debbie says one afternoon when they are supposed to be ruling Yonderland but are actually just lounging around in the sitting room, slumped on the sofas and feeling rather sleepy. “How did you two meet?”

Ho-Tan smiles, a sleeping Vex’s head resting against her shoulder. Choop has also fallen asleep, Pressley is drinking something alcoholic and Flowers has wandered off, his robes mysteriously vanishing. It is very quiet and peaceful in here, and Ho-Tan can’t remember the last time she felt this relaxed. She should probably be reviewing the minutes she took during their last meeting, but she’s can’t be bothered.

“It was quite a long time ago,” she says, and it feels strange to think about first meeting Vex (and the other Elders, for that matter). It seems so long ago, but it can’t be more than a few years (in their time, of course). “Back before…”

She trails off, but Ho-Tan continues her sentence in her head. _Back before I came out as trans._ Luckily, Debbie seems to understand, so Ho-Tan doesn’t have to say it. She doesn’t like talking about life before she transitioned, because… well, to put it very simply, she didn’t feel very well. Before she discovered who she really is, she felt very repressed and often sad. Luckily, though, things have been a quillion times better since she realised that she’s a woman.

“We’d recently lost several Elders in a short amount of time, so there were lots of positions open for new Elders,” she says, smiling again as she remembers her excitement when she was chosen. “Flowers started not that long before me, so I met everyone for the first time when I became an Elder. Including Vex.”

“What are you talking about?” Pressley says from the other side of the room, his voice a bit slurred.

“When I first met Vex,” she says.

“When _did_ you first meet him?”

“Pressley, you were there!” Ho-Tan cries, and she splutters with laughter.

Pressley grins sheepishly. “Ah, yes, of course I was. Never mind.”

Vex mumbles something in his sleep, his head shuffling against Ho-Tan’s shoulder. Debbie smiles fondly.

“When you first met him, did you… did you feel a connection?” Debbie asks.

“A connection?” Ho-Tan says, wondering if Debbie is using one of the idioms or phrases from her side that confuse them all when she says them.

“You know, a spark, a… did you ever think you two might end up going out?”

“Going out?”

Debbie sighs. “Dating. In a relationship with.”

Ho-Tan smiles, nodding. “Ah, I understand you. But, no, I didn’t. To be honest, I was far too nervous to think about anything really.”

“You were nervous?”

“Yes, I was terrified. You know how it is when you start a new job,” she says, feeling a bit tense at the memory. Debbie pulls a face, and Ho-Tan is certain that Debbie has also experienced the fear of starting a new job. “I mean, my hands were so shaky that I broke five quills in that first meeting.” She shudders. “Ugh! It was really embarrassing.”

Debbie smiles sympathetically. “Tell me about it. On my first day at my last job, I broke the photocopier!”

Ho-Tan has no idea what one of those is, but she laughs along with Debbie, certain that it is something important.

“But it got better,” she says when Debbie has stopped laughing. Despite the noise they are making, Vex and Choop are still asleep. “Everyone was so kind to me and I settled in nicely. Soon we were all the best of friends. I never thought I’d be friends with a giant blue blob, but there you go.”

“Hey!” Trevor cries. Ho-Tan jumps; she’d forgotten that Trevor was even in the room.

She smiles. “Sorry, Trevor.”

Debbie grins. “Speaking of the other Elders, why are those two asleep? It’s three o’clock in the afternoon!”

Ho-Tan shrugs her shoulders and accidentally jolts Vex’s head. “I’m not sure about Choop, but Vex here really struggles to sleep at night. So he often has naps in the daytime.”

“Fair enough,” Debbie says. She leans further forwards in her seat, and adds, “So, how long have you two been a couple now?”

Ho-Tan suddenly realises that Debbie is having a Girl’s Chat with her, just like she would with her friends on her side of the portal. She struggles to hide the grin that spreads across her face, amazed and loving the fact that Debbie one hundred percent sees her as ‘one of the girls’. But she obviously doesn’t manage it, because Debbie gives her a strange look.

“Are you all right?”

She nods, still grinning. “I’m fine, thanks. We started… um, going out not that long after the Pipple Tree… incident.”

She doesn’t need to elaborate; they all remember that day vividly, although for different reasons. But for Ho-Tan, it was the day when she realised for the first time that she is transgender (a word Debbie taught her).

“And is it going well?” Debbie asks.

Ho-Tan smiles. “It is going perfectly.”

\---

That night, Vex comes into Ho-Tan’s bedroom and gets into bed with her. They don’t have to sneak about like they did before they told the others about their relationship, but they also don’t like to make a fuss. So they just quietly go into each other’s rooms late in the evening, alternating night by night.

Ho-Tan cuddles up to Vex, her silk pyjamas feeling wonderfully soft against her skin. Vex kisses her forehead and puts his arm around her, letting Ho-Tan snuggle against his chest. He lets out a deep, contented sigh and closes his eyes.

“How long was I asleep earlier?” he asks.

“Just a few hours,” Ho-Tan mumbles, closing her eyes.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You looked too peaceful. Besides, Choop was asleep too, so it wasn’t only you.”

“That’s not so bad then. What were you doing while I was asleep?”

Ho-Tan shrugs. “Nothing, really. I just talked with Debbie... And I accidentally offended Trevor, Flowers walked around naked and Pressley got drunk.”

Vex chuckles slightly. “The ususal, then. What did you and Debbie talk about?”

“Just girls stuff,” Ho-Tan says, grinning again. “We talked about when I first met you. Debbie asked if I felt like there was chemistry between us the first time I saw you.”

“And what did you say?”

“That I was too nervous to think about anything. Why?”

“I was just thinking… when I first saw you… I think there might have been something. Not that I realised until much later.”

“Realised what?”

“That I love you,” Vex says. “Because I do. Very much so.”

Ho-Tan gives him a kiss. “Thank you. And I love you too.”


	2. Realisation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Two, Realization: The first time a member of your OTP (or both members!) realized they had feelings for the other.

Vex often thinks about the conversation he and Ho-Tan had in bed one night, about if they felt some kind of ‘connection’ when they first met each other. Because he still isn’t quite sure whether he did have ‘that feeling’ when he first saw her. Ho-Tan said she didn’t, but that was only because she was so nervous at the time.

But Vex isn’t so certain. He knows he felt something when he saw her, but was it love? Vex really does wish he didn’t have such a bad memory sometimes. This would probably all be easier to think about if he could remember everything properly.

Still, he supposes that it doesn’t really matter. All that’s important is that he loves Ho-Tan now, and that they’ve been very close for as long as he can remember.

\---                            

When he first met Ho-Tan, she used ‘he/him’ pronouns and identified as a man. Although, as Vex later found out, those years in her life were full of confusion and sadness, as she felt wrong calling herself a man. But a lack of understanding about gender and identities (Yonderland is a wonderful place, but they aren’t very good with labels) meant that she had no way to voice how she felt. Which meant that when they first met, Ho-Tan was introduced as a man.

They first spoke to each other during a formal meeting, in which Ho-Tan was officially introduced as a member of the Chamber of Elders. He was shy and timid, his hair short and his robes too big (although that might have been the fashion a few years ago; Vex can’t remember).

“…And this is Wise Elder Vex,” Choop said, and they made eye contact for the first time.

Vex smiled, amazed by Ho-Tan’s beauty when he looked at him properly. “Hello.”

Ho-Tan blushed slightly and looked away, fiddling with his new feather quill.

Vex didn’t know how to explain it, but that moment when he looked at Ho-Tan… he felt like something happened between them. Was it love? He certainly though Ho-Tan was beautiful. Could it have been love?

“Hello,” Ho-Tan said in a timid, quiet voice, and they didn’t speak to each other for a while after that first meeting.

Despite his worries, Ho-Tan settled in well with his new job. He made friends with Flowers first, probably because they were both new to their roles. It was an odd friendship, considering the pair had (and still don’t) nothing in common. Still, they liked each other a lot.

But it made a lot more sense when Ho-Tan and Vex became friends, because the pair of them just clicked. They were just friends back then, but they often spent time in each other’s bedrooms, just talking about anything and everything.

One such night, Vex told a dreadful joke and Ho-Tan started rolling around on the bed, laughing hysterically until tears ran down his face and he got the hiccups. And as Vex wondered what the heck was so funny and tried to calm his friend down, he got that feeling again. Did he want to be more than ‘just friends’ with Ho-Tan? He wasn’t sure. But he definitely knew that Ho-Tan was a wonderful person and the best friend he had ever had.

\---

Life continued as it always did, even after the arrival of the Chosen One. Ho-Tan grew his hair longer, and seemed to be getting more self conscious. He never told Vex anything, but he could see something was more obviously wrong with Ho-Tan.

But nothing changed until that fateful day with the Pipple Tree. Because everything was different after that day.

As they all messed about and made stupid wishes, Ho-Tan grabbed a Pipple fruit and said, “I want to be a woman.”

It was bizarre to see his friend transform before his eyes, but it wasn’t the same. Ho-Tan was a completely different person, and Vex didn’t know how that made him feel. But after Debbie reversed everyone’s wishes and Ho-Tan changed back again, the pure disappointment on his face was enough to make Vex realise his feelings weren’t important. Ho-Tan wanted to be a woman. What did that mean? He was confused… and he certainly wasn’t the only one.

It was late that night, after Debbie had defeated Imperatrix and everyone in the Realm was celebrating rather nosily, when there was a knock on Vex’s bedroom door.

He opened the door and found Ho-Tan standing in the doorway. He looked anxious and tense, and his long hair hid most of his face.

“Hello, Ho-Tan,” he said, smiling. “What can I do for you?”

“Can I talk to you?” Ho-Tan asked, avoiding eye contact. “I just need to… I need to talk.”

“Of course you can,” Vex said, letting Ho-Tan into the room and secretly glad that he was the person Ho-Tan had chosen to talk to.

Ho-Tan sat down on his bed, clasping his hands together. “It’s about the Pipple Tree. I just feel so confused, and I thought talking might help.”

Vex sat beside him, and, despite knowing exactly what the problem was, he said, “What are you confused about?”

Ho-Tan sighed. “I… the thing I wished for. When I wished to be a woman, I felt so right. And then everything felt wrong again when I changed back. I’m… I’m not a man, Vex. I’m just not. I don’t want to be called a man anymore. It’s wrong. I hate it.”

Ho-Tan’s voice shook, and Vex watched as their face crumpled and tears began to dribble down their cheeks. It hurt so much to see them cry, but it hurt even more to know how much Ho-Tan was struggling inside. How long had they been feeling like this?

“I’m so confused, Vex,” they sobbed, and they pulled Vex into a hug.

And he let Ho-Tan lean against him and cry into his chest, their voice spluttering as they stammered about confusion and Pipple Trees and feelings. Vex had no idea how to console them, but they patted Ho-Tan’s back and mumbled reassuring nothings into their shoulder.

When Ho-Tan finally stopped crying, their face was red and blotchy when they pulled away.

“Sorry,” they said, wiping their eyes.

“Don’t be sorry,” Vex said. “It’s all right.”

Ho-Tan smiled so sweetly and sadly, and Vex felt that feeling again. The ‘connection’ was how Debbie put it. Just like when they first met, he felt something towards Ho-Tan. But just like everything else right then, it was confusing and Vex didn’t really understand.

\---

A few days later, after a lot more worrying and a conversation with Debbie, an ecstatic Ho-Tan rushed up to Vex and pulled him aside.

“I’m a woman,” she said, and her voice was so strong and confident and she sounded so wonderfully happy. “I’m a woman, Vex. I understand now. I’m a woman!”

And Ho-Tan hugged him tightly, and Vex leaned his head against hers, and he finally realised something very important right then, as they stood in a tight embrace, Ho-Tan nearly crying with excitement and relief.

He was in love with her. The feeling he felt right when they first met was love! He was in love with Ho-Tan.

And when he first said the words, everything seemed to fall into place. Not that Ho-Tan was the first person he said them to.

“I… I think I love Ho-Tan,” he mumbled one afternoon as he sat beside Flowers, slightly embarrassed but also feeling like he needed to say it.

“And?” Flowers said, smiling.

Vex frowned. “What do you mean ‘and’?”

“I mean since when is that a new thing?”

“You already knew? Who told you?” Vex didn’t understand. That wasn’t possible. He hadn’t told anyone about his feelings for Ho-Tan.

Flowers chuckled and adjusted his robes (he hated wearing them, and so always fidgeted with them to make a point about how uncomfortable he found them). “Vex, I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’ve loved her for as long as you’ve known her.”

“Have I?” he said, starting to go red.

Flowers nodded. “You certainly have. And I might be mistaken, but I think Ho-Tan feels the same way about you.”

Vex smiled, joy and excitement making his chest feel tight. Flowers patted his shoulder.

“Do you want to tell her how you feel?”

Vex deliberated for a second, but then he nodded his head. “Yes, I do.”

Flowers grinned and clapped his hand against Vex’s arm. “Good man. You won’t regret it, I’m sure.”

\---

“Vex?”

Vex jumps slightly, realising that he was well and truly lost in his thoughts. Ho-Tan gives him a strange look, and Vex knows he must have been smiling broadly.

“Hmm?”

“What was that about?” she asks. “You looked totally zoned out.”

Vex shrugs his shoulders. “I was just… thinking.”

 _Yes,_ he thinks _, thinking about how long it took me to realise just how much I love you._


	3. The Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Three, The Reveal: When your OTP confessed their feelings. Or were their feelings originally a secret until someone else intervened?

He was in love with Ho-Tan! Vex wanted to dance around the room in pure excitement, but he stopped himself (mainly because he thought he might fall over). But a massive grin still spread across his face, and he was glad he was alone so no one could give him an odd look.

In the hours since he finally confessed his feelings to Flowers, everything seems to have fallen into place. All those glances, the fluttering chest when he saw her, the complete happiness whenever he and Ho-Tan spent time together – it was because of love. He was in love with his best friend, and everything seemed so right.

He needed to tell her. Not just because of what Flowers said (about how Ho-Tan almost certainly loved him too), but because he just needed to tell Ho-Tan how he felt about her. And there was a bit of a spring in his step as he left his room and headed off to buy some flowers.

\---

Vex was surprisingly nervous as he walked towards Ho-Tan’s bedroom, a bunch of Ho-Tan’s favourite flowers grasped in his hand. Despite being almost completely certain that this was going to go well (if Ho-Tan loved him back, it would be amazing, but if she didn’t, he knew they would still be the best of friends), part of Vex was full of doubt. What if this ruined their friendship? What if Ho-Tan didn’t like him anymore?

The worrying almost made him turn around, but he forced himself to walk right up to Ho-Tan’s bedroom and knock on the door. He tucked the flowers behind his back, and smiled when Ho-Tan opened the door.

She looked tired (it was probably because they had spent all morning trying to find the robes that Flowers mysteriously ‘lost’), but her face just lit up when she saw Vex.

“Vex!” she said, smiling. “How are you?”

“Tired.”

“Me too. Did you ever find his robes?”

He shook his head. “No, I think he accidentally destroyed them.”

Ho-Tan grinned. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Choop made him put a dressing gown on,” Vex said. “But it’s too small for him and he looks ridiculous.”

She laughed. “I need to see that. Where is he?”

“I think he’s sulking in his room,” Vex said, and he swallowed hard. “But… can we… can I talk to you for a minute first?”

The smile slid from Ho-Tan’s face, becoming replaced with worry. She obviously thought something was wrong. “What about?”

“It’s nothing bad,” he said, trying to sound reassuring. “I just need to talk to you about something.”

Ho-Tan still looked nervous, but she smiled and let Vex into the room, closing the door behind him. They both sat on the end of her bed, something they had been doing forever but suddenly felt awkward. Almost sitting on the flowers, Vex held them out to Ho-Tan before forgot about them again.

“What are these for?” she said, pressing the petals to her nose and inhaling the wonderful smell.

“Just a present,” Vex said, hoping he wasn’t going red.

“They’re my favourites,” Ho-Tan said. “Thank you, Vex.”

He smiled. “It’s nothing.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked.

Vex opened his mouth to speak, and forgot what he was going to say. He had rehearsed his words over and over again in his head, but now it came to actually saying them, Vex was lost for words. He sighed and his face flushed, even his ears managing to go red. He didn’t know how to say it, how to put all of his feelings into a sentence and just share them all with his best friend, the woman he was hopelessly in love with.

In the end, he just blurted the words out. Not the best plan, admittedly, but it was still effective.

“I love you,” he said, the words bursting out of his mouth before he really knew what he was saying.

If it was possible, Vex went even redder. Hoping he hadn’t ruined what was supposed to be a proper romantic speech, he glanced at Ho-Tan. Her eyes were wide, her hand brought up to her mouth like she always did when she was confused.

“What did y-you say?” she said, stuttering slightly.

“I love you, Ho-Tan,” Vex said, slowly this time, actually processing the words before he said them.

And Ho-Tan took hold of Vex’s hand and grasped it between both of her own. She moved her head and her hair covered most of her face, but Vex still saw her blush.

“Vex,” she said, and her eyes looked so bright as she stared into his eyes. Her voice was tentative and soft, but there was a beautiful smile on her beautiful face as she said, “I love you too.”

Vex smiled, and he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry from the sheer perfection of that moment. In the end, he hugged Ho-Tan, and his voice trembled as he whispered, “I love you so much.”

\---

Only a couple of days after they confessed their love for each other, Ho-Tan and Vex decided to tell the other Elders about their relationship. Vex felt like it might be a bit too soon, but Ho-Tan thought it was a good idea.

“If we don’t tell them, then we’ll have to keep our relationship a secret,” she said as they sat in Vex’s bedroom, hands clasped and leaning their shoulders together. “And I want to be able to hold your hand whenever, not just in private.”

Vex smiled, realising that she was talking a lot of sense. He didn’t want to have to hide their relationship.

“All right,” he said, squeezing Ho-Tan’s hand and smiling. “We’ll tell them.”

So it was decided; they were going to tell the others. And they did, the next day. When their latest boring meeting had ended, Vex cleared his throat and Ho-Tan started fiddling with her feather quill pen, clearly nervous.

But there was nothing to worry about. Just as they had both secretly known, their fellow Elders were wonderfully happy and accepting. And Vex hadn’t expected anything less; after all, they were all close friends and cared about each other deeply.

“May I say something?” Vex said, raising his hand even though that wasn’t necessary.

“Of course you can,” Choop said. “Is it about the meeting?”

Vex shook his head. “No, as much as I found that in-depth meeting about lockers fascinating, this is about something else.”

“You don’t need to write this down, Ho-Tan,” Choop said, but Ho-Tan had her eyes focused on Vex.

“You see, there is something I… we want to tell you,” he said, and his face started to flush. “Ho-Tan and I… we’re… well…”

“We’re in a relationship,” Ho-Tan said, and no one said anything for a few seconds.

Vex watched the other Elders process what Ho-Tan just said, amused and relieved to see smiles appear on their faces. Pressley looked amazed and Choop just looked stunned, but Flowers was grinning broadly. Of course he was – he was the one who Vex first told about his feelings for Ho-Tan.

Flowers laughed and gave Ho-Tan’s shoulder a squeeze. He leaned forwards in his seat to get a better look at Vex and said, “Well done, Vex. I told you it would work out.”

Ho-Tan looked at Flowers, and her eyes widened as she obviously realised that her best friend had worked out their awkward feelings for each other ages ago. And then she smiled and squeezed Flowers’ hand.

“Come on, then,” Trevor said, and Choop sighed.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a wad of notes, before putting them on the bench in front of Trevor. The blob made a noise that sounded like laughter, and said, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“What was that about?” Vex asked as Flowers and Pressley exchanged a bag of coins.

“We made a bet,” Trevor said.

“Yes, we did,” Choop said, sighing again. “We had a bet to see how long it would take you two to realise that you are completely in love with each other. As you can see, Trevor’s bet was more accurate.”

Vex raised his eyebrows, watching Ho-Tan giggle. “Did you all know?”

“Know what?” Pressley asked, looking slightly miffed as Flowers counted his new coins.

“That Vex and I are in love,” Ho-Tan said, her face flushing.

The other Elders all looked at each other. Ho-Tan giggled again.

“Yes,” they all said, in perfect unison.

And Vex burst out laughing as Choop patted him on the shoulder and Ho-Tan got up and gave him a hug.


	4. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three times Vex and Ho-Tan tried to have a perfect first date, and the one time they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Four, First Date: Your OTP’s first date. Where’d they go? Did the date go well or go horribly?

Although they had been best friends for ages and officially in a relationship for a week, Vex still felt like he and Ho-Tan needed to go on a proper date. Just like when he gave her flowers, Vex rather liked the idea of old fashioned courting, when everything is done properly, complete with flowers and hand holding and presents.

“I feel bad, you know,” he said one afternoon as they sat in the sitting room, trying to ignore the argument Choop and Flowers were having about robes (or the lack thereof).

“Whatever for?” Ho-Tan said, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. He loved it when she did that.

“That we have been ‘going out’,” Vex said, using a phrase Debbie taught them, “For a week now and I still haven’t taken you out on a date.”

Ho-Tan smiled, blushing. “You don’t need to do that, Vex.”

“I insist,” he said, squeezing her hand.

Ho-Tan chuckled. “All right, then. Where should we go?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Vex said, trying to sound mysterious but actually saying it because he didn’t have a clue where to go.

But he did have a few ideas…

\---

One

Holding each other’s hands, their fingers interlocked, Vex and Ho-Tan walked into the tavern. Immediately, the smell of dust hit Vex and he coughed, wrinkling his nose. The tavern was dark and cramped, and everyone inside it seemed sad and more interested in their drinks than making conversation.

Vex raised his eyebrows, wishing Pressley was here so he could call him an idiot (and worse). What on realm possessed him to recommend this tavern as a good place for a romantic date? Was he drunk? Knowing Pressley, he probably was.

Ho-Tan smiled awkwardly and gave his hand a squeeze.

“Well, isn’t this place interesting?” she said, and Vex wondered what ‘interesting’ implied.

“That’s certainly one word for it,” Vex muttered.

“Should we get a table?” Ho-Tan said, staring around the rather empty tavern as though searching for a spare table.

“You want to stay?” he said, a bit shocked.

Ho-Tan shrugged her shoulders, flicking her hair off of her face. “Why not? It’ll be an experience, if nothing else.”

Vex smiled. “Right then. Let’s find a seat.”

They picked a table close to a window, so they got some natural light. Although this meant they could see dust floating in the air and the grime all over the window. Vex dusted down Ho-Tan’s chair and held it out for her, letting his girlfriend sit before carefully tucking her chair in. Ho-Tan smiled.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked.

“Anything non-alcoholic,” Ho-Tan said. She wasn’t that keen on alcohol (unlike a certain irritating Elder who shall remain nameless).

Vex wandered up to the bar, and did an actual double take when he saw the bartender. He must have been nearly eight foot tall, and he had six huge, muscular arms. He looked down at Vex, and his stare was so intimidating that Vex gulped. And when he gave his order, he was ashamed to admit that his voice wobbled and his hands shook as he handed over his money.

He walked back to the table with their drinks in his shaking hands, trying not to look terrified of the massive scary bartender. He sat down opposite Ho-Tan and smiled as well as he could, taking a sip of his lager.

“Thank you,” Ho-Tan said, taking her drink. “And thank you for this.”

Vex glanced around the dingy, dirty tavern, and raised his eyebrows as if to say, “I’m sorry this place is so awful.” Ho-Tan smiled and squeezed his hand.

It was a reasonably nice night, except for the dirt and the terrifying bartender and the fact that a gang of drunks started a fight on the other side of the room. And Vex vowed to never listen to any tavern recommendations from Pressley ever again.

\---

Two

“What about a trip to the beach?”

Those really had been famous last words. When Flowers suggested it to them the next afternoon as they left the Chamber, Vex and Ho-Tan both grinned.

“That’s a great idea,” Ho-Tan said, and Vex didn’t blame her for getting so excited. After all, neither of them had been to a beach in years.

So that was what they did (eventually; they had to wait for a sunny day). They packed a hamper full of drinks and picnic food, put on their swimming garments under their clothes and headed off to the beach Flowers had recommended. He said it was his favourite, and that the cliffs were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Unfortunately, Vex and Ho-Tan didn’t get a good look at the cliffs. They did, however, get a look at lots of other things. After walking down the narrow pathway between the cliffs, they stepped out onto the sands – and that was when they realised that this was a nudist beach.

They both grimaced, trying to cover their eyes as they saw far more naked people than they ever would have wanted. And Ho-Tan screwed her eyes up as they both rushed back up the path and away from all the naked people.

So that attempt at a date was a disaster too. Still, it was rather funny. And they cuddled and ate their picnic in the carriage on the way home.

\---

Three

“Why don’t you sit out on the balcony?” suggested Choop, the only Elder yet to give Vex dreadful advice.

“The balcony, yes,” Vex said, nodding thoughtfully. The balcony had amazing views of Yonderland, and was big enough to put a dining table on. Yes, he and Ho-Tan could have an amazing date out on the balcony. He smiled and patted Choop on the shoulder. “That’s a very good idea, old boy. Thank you.”

Choop smiled. “No problem.”

With help from Choop and the others (he had forgiven Pressley and Flowers, but he still wasn’t going to ask them about anything to do with planning first dates), Vex soon had the grand balcony decked out with candles and one of the small dining tables.

As darkness fell, he lit the candles, and the scene looked so beautiful in the candlelight. He poured out their drinks (Debbie had managed to get him some alcohol-free wine from her side), put some of Ho-Tan’s favourite flowers in a vase, and then went off in search of his wonderful girlfriend.

“This is wonderful, Vex,” she said as they walked onto the balcony, the three moons shining in the sky.

“I’m so glad you like it,” Vex said, smiling as they both took their places.

They clinked glasses and sipped the surprisingly tasty alcohol-free wine – and then rain was suddenly falling, extinguishing their candles and plunging them into darkness.

“What the…?” Vex mumbled, rushing Ho-Tan back indoors before they both got drenched.

“Cloudburst,” Ho-Tan said, trying to dry her soaking wet hair.

She was right; it was a cloudburst. Every so often in Yonderland, a cloudburst would happen, in which clouds would appear and start pouring rain in a matter of seconds. They infuriated everyone, because you could never see them coming. And Vex and Choop certainly hadn’t seen this one coming.

And Vex sighed, hating cloudburst and hating how his attempts to give Ho-Tan a romantic date kept going wrong.

\---

One

_Now this is more like it_ , Vex thought, smiling and taking a sip of wine.

Ho-Tan smiled at him from across the table, looking even more beautiful than usual in her new dress (she had never worn a dress before, so this was a big thing for her). Vex smiled too, glancing around the clean, dry restaurant filled with clean, friendly and clothed people.

“Now, this,” she said, clasping both of Vex’s hands and interlocking their fingers. “Is perfect.”

Vex had to agree. Finally, he had done it – and their proper first date truly was perfect.


	5. Reminder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Five, Reminder: What trinkets or items does each member of your OTP keep with them to remind them of their significant other? A gift? A photograph? Something else?

Feathers

Ho-Tan loves feather quills. Long before she became a scribe and actually started writing things down as her job (although, as she frequently points out, her role as Scribe Elder involves more than just taking notes), she always loved to write. And she particularly likes to write with feather quills.

They do actually use pens in Yonderland (well, some people do), but Ho-Tan has always preferred the more traditional method of note taking. There is something about taking a simple feather and turning into a pen that she just finds fascinating, and writing with liquid ink is far more fun than using the weird ballpoint pen things that Debbie uses that have the ink already inside them. It may be slower and more laborious (and messy; she is always getting ink all over her hands), but Ho-Tan would take a quill over a pen any day.

One day in the Chamber, Ho-Tan is taking notes as Choop talks to Debbie (and bickers with the other Elders) when the nib of her quill snaps. Ink sprays all over the page, ruining the notes she has spent the last few minutes writing.

“Damn,” she mutters, blotting the ink with a handkerchief helpfully offered by Flowers. She looks up at Choop, who is staring at her, and Debbie, who looks bemused. “Sorry.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to borrow a pen, Ho-Tan?” Debbie says, digging into the bag dangling from her shoulder.

“No thanks,” she says, wiping her inky fingers on the now ruined handkerchief.

“She doesn’t believe in pens,” Choop says, smiling.

“They’re boring,” Vex says, quoting Ho-Tan exactly.

“And a pen would ruin the aesthetic, you know?” Flowers says, gesturing with his hands. “It wouldn’t fit in with the scrolls and the robes and the fancy old fashioned building.”

Pressley snorts with laughter and Flowers playfully nudges him with his elbow. Ho-Tan grins, and sees Vex grinning out of the corner of her eye. They have all been through this routine before with different people, but it never fails to amuse them.

Debbie raises her eyebrows. “Are you seriously telling me that you pick the more impractical option simply because of the aesthetics?”

“Yep,” Ho-Tan says, nodding her head, and Vex bursts out laughing. It isn’t actually that simple, but it’s always fun to wind up the Chosen One.

Debbie sighs and looks at Elf, as though expecting him to also be confused. But he just looks amused.

“You lot are so weird,” she says.

“We’re weird?” Elf says from behind Debbie. “You’re the one who can turn a television on without getting up.”

“How can you do that?” Choop says.

“Magic!” Pressley gasps.

Debbie sighs. “Seriously? It’s called a remote control. Haven’t I told you this before?”

“Probably,” Elf says, shrugging his shoulders.

“He probably wasn’t listening,” says Nick the Stick. “He’s often like that.”

“Huh?” Elf says. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

“See what I mean?” Nick says.

As Elf and Nick start bickering, Choop loudly clears his throat. “If everyone has finished, could we please get back onto the topic?”

“Yes, please do,” Debbie says, looking at her wristwatch. “I need to pick the kids up at three.”

“I just need a new quill first,” Ho-Tan says, jumping down from her seat and rushing off in search of a replacement. As she leaves, she distinctly hears Debbie sigh and Flowers and Pressley start laughing.

That evening, her new quill breaks only a few hours after she got it. The nib breaks and ink seeps all across the page of her journal (Debbie’s idea; she recommended keeping a journal ages ago as a way of channelling her thoughts), ruining her writing. She sighs and starts blotting the ink again (Flowers let her keep the handkerchief), her already stained fingers getting coated in thick, sticky ink all over again.

“What’s the matter?” Vex says, walking into the room. He must have just had a bath, because his hair is wet and he appears to be only wearing his dressing gown.

“Nothing,” she says, but she can’t quite keep the frustration out of her voice. After all, she spent ages carefully writing out her thoughts in her best handwriting, and now it is all ruined.

Ho-Tan hears him open the wardrobe and doesn’t turn around in case Vex is getting dressed. “Are you sure?”

Her theory was correct, because when Vex wanders over and looks at Ho-Tan and the ink explosion, he is wearing a purple nightshirt. He leans his hands on the back of her chair, and Ho-Tan can smell his lavender-scented shampoo.

“Well, my quill broke,” Ho-Tan says, holding out the feather with her inky fingers.

Vex takes the broken quill and looks at it, turning it over in his hands.

“No wonder it broke, my dear. This is a very cheap quill.”

“I know,” Ho-Tan says. “But there’s no point spending more when I go through so many of them.”

“Yes, but you might not go through so many if they are better quality,” Vex says.

“Good point,” she says, and she chuckles. “That’s a very good point. I never thought of it like that.”

Vex chuckles too and puts his hands on her shoulders. “While we’re on the subject of quills, how come you aren’t using the posh quill I bought you?”

Every Thanktival, the Elders buy each other presents (they usually get the same things year after year; so Pressley gets alcohol, Vex gets earmuffs, Choop gets hair products, Flowers gets comfortable clothes to encourage him to wear them, and Ho-Tan gets a posh quill), but since last time they were also in a relationship, Vex got Ho-Tan an extra present as well. It was a beautiful multicoloured feather quill with a strong nib and wonderfully soft feathers. It must have cost a fortune, and Ho-Tan nearly cried when he gave it to her out of the sheer beauty of her gift.

“I’ve never used it,” Ho-Tan says, feeling silly when her face starts to blush.

“Why not?” Vex asks. “After all, that is what quills are for.”

“Well, the thing is, and this might sound really silly, but I don’t want to use it in case I accidentally damage it.”

Vex smiles, but she can tell that he is confused. “And why is that?”

“Because… because you gave it to me, and I want to keep it perfect forever. Because it was such a perfect present, and I… I don’t want to ruin it.”

Ho-Tan’s face is burning; saying it like this makes her feel like such an idiot. Because it is a silly thing to get so sentimental about, really. But still…

Vex smiles again, but his smile is sadder this time. “Don’t be silly, Ho-Tan. You don’t need to get yourself worked up over a quill. It doesn’t matter. And if you did break it, you could easily get another one.”

“I know,” Ho-Tan says, letting her hair fall across her red face. _But not another one like that one_ , she thinks, _because that one is perfect._ “I know.”

She gets up and heads over to her wardrobe. Vex follows, watching Ho-Tan reach up to the top shelf and take down the box. She carefully brushes dust off of the top of it, and then opens the box, revealing the feather quill, as bright and vibrant and beautiful as the day he gave it to her.

“Is this box custom made?” Vex asks, obviously noticing how the box is the perfect shape for the feather.

Ho-Tan nods, carefully brushing her fingertips across the quill before putting the box back on the shelf.

“Yes, I had it made especially. I know it sounds so silly, but I just want to keep it safe and protected forever. It was just the most perfect wonderful present I’ve ever had,” she says, not even exaggerating slightly; she truly means every word. “And… I don’t want to ruin it.”

“You silly thing,” Vex says softly, giving her a lovely smile. He pulls Ho-Tan into a hug, and she leans against him. “I understand.”

\---

Time

Vex is a very forgetful person. He forgets important things all the time, and is so prone to being late for meetings that Choop has started telling him that they start ten minutes before they actually do, just to give him chance to turn up on time. It is quite amusing, but it also annoys people, especially Vex, who often berates himself for being so forgetful.

After an incident in which Vex is twenty minutes too late for a meeting and really annoys their guest, Ho-Tan decides to bring up the issue with Debbie. Just as they have been doing lately, the pair of them sit at the table in Debbie’s kitchen, drinking a lovely drink called hot chocolate and making the most of the fact Debbie’s family aren’t here. All of the Elders have been visiting Debbie’s house more often in the last few weeks, but Ho-Tan is her most common guest.

So she takes a sip of the chocolate drink and tells Debbie about how Vex is never on time for anything.

“…In fact, I was thinking about getting him a wristwatch,” she says. “So he always knows what the time is.”

“That’s a good idea,” Debbie says, smiling.

Ho-Tan smiles too. “I might go to the market and buy him one of those really posh ones where you can see the mechanisms working. He’d like that.”

“Why such a big present?” Debbie asks. “Is his birthday coming up?”

Ho-Tan blinks, still confused by the concept of birthdays. “No, I just want to get him a nice gift. You see, he’s always buying me gifts, and I want to return the favour. He’s always taking me out for meals and buying me nice jewellery and notebooks and things, because he knows I like writing. And Vex gave me another posh quill yesterday so I don’t have to use any of the one I have in my cupboard, and I just feel so… humbled that he wants to give me so many gifts.”

Debbie reaches across the table and pats her hand. “That’s just what some people do when they’re in love. They love spending money on their partner.”

“I know,” she says. “But I sort of feel bad that Vex has bought so much for me and I haven’t done nearly as much for him.”

“It isn’t a competition, Ho-Tan,” Debbie says.

“I know,” she says again. Ho-Tan sighs. “I just want to return the favour, to show him just how much he means to him. And that’s why I want to buy him the watch.”

Debbie squeezes her hand and smiles. “I understand. I hope you get him a watch he really likes.”

Ho-Tan smiles. “Thank you.”

One trip to the market later, Ho-Tan has the perfect present for Vex. And she can’t wait to give it to him. So she wraps it up neatly and puts it in a box with a bow on top, and then goes to find Vex.

She locates him outside Pressley’s room, clearly having just helped a rather drunk Pressley to his bedroom. She keeps the box tucked behind her back, wanting to keep it a surprise.

“Vex,” she says, and Vex jumps slightly at her voice.

“Ah, Ho-Tan,” he says, obviously realising it is just her. “What are you doing?”

“I’ve been looking for you,” she says.

Vex smiles. “What for? Do you want to talk to me?”

“Sort of. I have a present for you,” she says, holding out the box.

Vex takes it, but he looks confused. “What’s the occasion?”

“There isn’t one,” Ho-Tan says. “I just wanted to thank you for being a wonderful partner.”

Vex blushes slightly, but he carefully opens the box and unwraps the paper. The watch falls into his open hand. With thick leather straps and a shiny silver face, the chunky watch is almost impossible to miss.

“A wristwatch,” Vex says, turning the watch over in his hands. He smiles, and Ho-Tan is momentarily struck by how beautiful his smile is. “Thank you so much, my dear. It is lovely.”

“No problem,” Ho-Tan says, fastening the watch around Vex’s left wrist. The watch makes a soft, almost comforting ticking noise for each second that passes. “Now you’ll always be on time.”

“Thank you,” Vex says, and he wraps his arms around her and pulls Ho-Tan into a hug. “Thank you so much. It is truly a perfect gift.”

Ho-Tan smiles, pressing her face against his shoulder. “I’m glad you like it.”


	6. New to the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Six, New to the Family: Each member of your OTP meeting the other’s family for the first time. Does each family approve of the one dating the other? What sorts of shenanigans do they get into?

“When you and Vex started going out, did you have to do the ‘meeting the family’ thing?” Debbie asks, eating another strange biscuit with orange jelly inside of it (they taste wonderful, but Ho-Tan is still rather confused by them).

Ho-Tan frowns, a bit confused. “Meeting the family?”

“You know, visiting each other’s families and introducing them,” Debbie says.

Ho-Tan shakes her head, and her hair flutters across her face; she flicks it out of the way. “No, we never had to do anything like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because our families already knew,” she says. “Well, we don’t really have families. Obviously, we have the other Elders and our Youngers and some friends we’ve known for years, but they already knew both of us. So it was just a case of telling them about our relationship, rather than actually introducing each other.”

Debbie nods. “I see. Did it go well?”

Ho-Tan smiles at the memories. “Definitely. The other Elders had already worked it out – it turns out that we weren’t very good at keeping our feels for each other a secret – and the Youngers accepted it really quickly. They just smiled and laughed and hugged us both and then went back to the game they were playing. And then… obviously, we told you…”

“Me?” Debbie says. “What do I have to do with it?”

“Well, because… because you are family too, Debbie…” Ho-Tan says, and her face goes red.

Debbie smiles, but she looks slightly like she wants to cry. “Thank you, Ho-Tan. That’s so sweet.”

And Debbie gives her a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard to write, which is why it's so much shorter than the others.


	7. Laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Seven, Laughter: Your OTP making each other laugh. Jokes? Stories? Tickle fights?

Vex is very ticklish.

Ho-Tan discovers this fact one afternoon, when Vex is complaining of backache. It’s probably something to do with the fact that they just spent several hours in a meeting, sat upright in their seats in the chamber, talking about something or other.

“Would you like a massage?” Flowers asks, watching Vex grimace and rub his back.

Vex shrugs and then winces. “Why not? It can’t make me any worse, can it?”

Which is how Vex ends up laying on his stomach on the floor in the sitting room, resting his forehead against a cushion and only wearing his undergarments. Ho-Tan, Pressley and Choop can’t help but watch, intrigued by what Flowers is going to do. He puts his hands on Vex’s back and starts massaging his sore muscles. His hands move slowly but firmly and, from his level of skill, Ho-Tan knows that he has done this before.

Ho-Tan expects Vex to groan in pain, but she smiles when she hears a different noise – laughter. Vex is laughing.

“What’s the matter?” Flowers asks, moving so Vex can sit up.

Vex can’t stop laughing, his shoulders heaving and his face bright red and he giggles hysterically.

“That… that tickled,” he gasps, wrapping his arms around his chest.

Flowers grins and Ho-Tan starts laughing; beside her, Pressley and Choop look very amused.

“Since when were you ticklish?” Choop asks as Vex just about gets over his laughing fit.

He wipes his red face with the back of his hand, shuddering with barely suppressed laughter. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, old boy.”

Choop raises his eyebrows, but he smiles. Ho-Tan grasps Vex’s hands, and helps her boyfriend to his feet. He sits down between her and Pressley on the sofa, giggling feebly. Ho-Tan leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Does your back feel any better?” Flowers asks, handing Vex his shirt.

“Not really,” Vex says, and he smiles. “But at least that’s taken my mind off of it.”

The next day in the chamber, Ho-Tan waits until Choop leans forwards in his seat, and then leans behind him and tickles Vex’s neck with her feather quill. He splutters with laughter and shoves her hand away.

“Stop it, Ho-Tan!” he says, but his laughter means his voice comes out really shakily.

“What on Realm are you two doing?” Choop says, doing his best to sound outraged (but not quite keeping the smile from his face).

Flowers and Pressley grin as Ho-Tan tickles Vex again, and Vex dissolves into laughter again. Choop leans back in his seat, forcing Ho-Tan to withdraw her arm and stop tickling Vex with the feather.

“That’s quite enough of that,” he says, and Vex rubs the part of his neck Ho-Tan was just tickling.

“Spoilsport,” Flowers mutters, smiling.

Choop pretends not to hear him. Ho-Tan leans forwards and looks at Vex. His face still flushed from laughing, he smiles at her.

“Now,” Choop says, looking down at his scroll. “Where were we?”

\---

Living in Debbie’s loft isn’t exactly fun, but they don’t really have any other options.

There is barely enough room for the five of them, and the ceiling is so low at the edges of the room that Ho-Tan can’t stand up without banging her head. Although there are lots of boxes full of interesting things that they probably aren’t supposed to look at, and Pressley is keeping himself entertained by eating a box of things that really don’t look very edible.

And being trapped inside this loft is rather boring (they aren’t even allowed out to use the toilet), so it’s natural that the Elders start to do silly things to keep themselves entertained. After sorting out their sleeping arrangements (the five of them in a row, with Vex and Ho-Tan on the left, Pressley and Flowers on the right and Choop in the middle; it is so cramped that they have to huddle close together, but that doesn’t bother Vex and Ho-Tan – or Pressley and Flowers, for that matter), they start rummaging through the boxes again.

Flowers finds a photo album and starts laughing at the pictures of ~~Bob~~ Peter, and Vex finds a box of clothes. More specifically, a box of underwear.

“Look!” he says, turning around and holding up a purple brassier. “One of Deb-beh’s bras!”

Pressley looks up from eating one of the decorations and grins. “Put it on. I dare you.”

“This should be fun,” Choop says, rubbing his hands together.

As the others sit down and watch, Vex awkwardly fastens the bra and puts it around his chest. He turns around, and he looks so silly with a bra on over his shirt that Ho-Tan starts laughing hysterically. It might be the lack of sleep or the anxiety she’s been feeling recently, but something just makes her break down laughing as she looks at Vex.

Vex grins and tries his best to adopt Debbie’s mannerisms, standing with his hands on his hips.

“Stay in the loft,” he says, doing an impression of Debbie (it doesn’t sound that much like her, but that just makes it funnier) and waggling his finger at them all. “This is important.”

Choop starts chuckling, and Pressley and Flowers both dissolve into hysterics. Ho-Tan laughs until tears stream down her face, staring at her silly boyfriend as he does impression after impression of the Chosen One. It just feels so good to laugh after everything that has happened. And Vex sees her laughing and gives her a lovely smile.

That night as they try to sleep (but they don’t have much success, because everyone else is still awake: Vex has backache from laying on the floor; Pressley still has stomach ache from eating those weird decoration things; Choop can’t sleep because the sound of everyone else breathing is keeping him awake; and Flowers can’t stop laughing whenever he thinks about Pressley’s near miss with ~~Bob~~ Peter earlier), Ho-Tan starts to feel homesick. As she lies beside her boyfriend and the only friends she has left in the whole of Yonderland, Ho-Tan finds herself thinking about her bedroom in the Chamber of Elders, and all of her favourite places throughout Yonderland. But she has lost them all, because everything has gone so horribly wrong and the whole Realm hates them now.

Ho-Tan’s eyes fill with tears, and she breathes heavily as she blinks rapidly, trying to stop herself crying. Vex rolls over and puts his arms around her, hugging Ho-Tan tightly. She sighs shakily and rests her head against his.

“Are you all right?” he whispers, his breath hot against her cheek.

She nods, and they bump heads. “I think so.”

“Are you sure? I think—”

Choop sighs heavily, sitting up sharply. “Will you two be quiet?! I’m trying to sleep.”

“Speak for yourself,” Flowers says, yawning. “I was almost asleep until you started talking, mate.”

“Ssh!” Pressley hisses, really quite loudly.

“Shh yourself,” Vex says, and Ho-Tan has to stuff her hand into her mouth to stop herself laughing.

They all keep bickering until a furious-looking Debbie opens the loft hatch.

Her hand is shaking and her voice is low but firm as she whispers, “Shut up, all of you. This is meant to be a secret.”

“We’re sorry, Deb-beh,” Vex says, and him mispronouncing her name seems to be the last straw for Debbie.

“You know what, you lot are leaving first thing tomorrow morning. We can’t keep this up. Pete’s already seen one of you. You can’t stay here anymore.”

“But where are we meant to go?” Ho-Tan whispers as Pressley looks sheepish and Flowers suppresses laughter.

Debbie sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know. Just… you can’t stay here. We’ll set you up a campsite in the woods or something.” She sighs again. “Just go to sleep. And be quiet.”

Debbie disappears down the loft hatch, and the loft is plunged into darkness again. They are all silent for a few seconds, until…

“And be quiet,” Vex whispers in his Debbie voice, and the five of them have to burrow their heads into their pillows to muffle their laughter.


	8. First Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Eight, First Kiss: Exactly what it sounds like— make a piece inspired by/about your OTP’s first kiss.

Ho-Tan and Vex kiss a lot, but they were both so nervous about their first kiss. It makes Ho-Tan laugh when she thinks back, but at the time they both deliberated for weeks, anxious to kiss each other in case they ruined the moment and made their first kiss ‘awkward’.

But neither of them had to worry. Because their first kiss was absolutely perfect.

\---

They always spent a lot of time together (they still do), but Vex and Ho-Tan often spent time apart in the afternoons. After meetings in the Chamber, they usually went off and relaxed and talked to their best friends.

Choop was definitely Vex’s best friend (although he did spend a lot of time with Trevor), so they often walked through the grounds together and talked. Ho-Tan was still best friends with Flowers, so she and Flowers sat together in her bedroom (but it was more Flowers-and-Pressley recently, as the pair were almost inseparable as she and Vex), chatting about pointless things and plaiting each other’s hair.

Pressley was drinking alcohol and watching Ho-Tan finish platting another lock of Flowers’ hair when Flowers asked her the strangest question.

“Have you and Vex kissed yet?” Flowers said in an almost gossipy tone.

Ho-Tan raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t that a bit personal?”

Pressley chuckled. Flowers shrugged his shoulders.

“I suppose so,” he said, grinning. “I was just curious.”

“Yes, well, keep your curiosity to yourself, nosy,” Ho-Tan said, but she grinned as she playfully shoved his shoulder.

“So… you haven’t kissed yet?” Flowers said.

Ho-Tan sighed. “No, we haven’t, if you really have to know.”

Flowers and Pressley looked at each other, and Ho-Tan wondered what their facial expressions told each other; it was fascinating how very close people seemed able to communicate without saying a word. She hoped she and Vex might be like that one day.

When neither of them said anything, Ho-Tan started plaiting a new lock of Flowers’ hair. “Well, if we are all done talking about my private life…”

“I thought you might like some advice,” Flowers said, giving her a silly smile.

Ho-Tan gave the most exaggerated sigh she could manage. “Flowers! Honestly…”

“Because, I mean, I am an excellent kisser and all that.”

“He’s not,” Pressley mouthed, grinning. Ho-Tan suppressed the urge to laugh.

“Charming,” Flowers muttered, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile.

“But, while we’re on the subject,” Ho-Tan said, and her face started to go red. “Can I ask you a question about… relationships?”

“We’re all ears,” Flowers said.

“Not literally,” Pressley said. “Because that would be weird.”

Ignoring him, Ho-Tan started fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves. “Well… this might sound bizarre, but… how do you know… when it’s the right time to have your first kiss?”

Her friends looked at each other, and Pressley took a sip of his drink.

“I think you just know,” Flowers said. “There’s just this feeling between you both, and… it just feels right.”

Ho-Tan looked at them both, smiling weakly. She was grateful for the advice, but it didn’t really work. She just hoped that everything would feel right when she and Vex kissed, because, in her mind at least, first kisses need to be perfect.

\---

Ho-Tan thought a lot about her conversation with Pressley and Flowers. And she knew they were right; there was no point in rushing things. But she did want to kiss Vex and she thought – she hoped – that he wanted to kiss her too. So she tried not to dwell on it, but ended up doing it anyway.

That night, Ho-Tan sat cross legged on the end of Vex’s bed, watching her boyfriend change into his nightclothes. They often spent time in each other’s rooms in the evening, before heading to their own rooms to sleep (although some nights they cuddled in bed and fell asleep like that). She wrung her hands together, wondering if this might be a good time to have her first kiss with Vex. Well, she supposed, there was no real reason why it wasn’t a good time.

So Ho-Tan cleared her throat awkwardly and Vex turned to look at her, pulling his nightcap onto his head.

“Can I talk to you about something?” she asked, and her voice actually cracked. Why did no one else get this anxious about kissing their partner?

What should she do? She thought of what Flowers and Pressley told her, but how was she to know when the right time actually was?

Vex sat down beside her and held her hands.

“Of course you can,” he said. When Ho-Tan said nothing, unsure of what to say, he added, “Well?”

Ho-Tan deliberated for what seemed like ages, sat on the bed with Vex, holding her boyfriend’s hands. Her hands felt damp with sweat, but she didn’t know which one of them was sweating. She just felt so nervous. She hadn’t kissed anyone in years, and she was so worried. What if she ruined it? Their first kiss needed to be perfect.

But it turned out that all of her worrying was unnecessary. Because, in the end, it was Vex who made the first move.

He squeezed her hands and leaned closer, and he smiled. “Ho-Tan, this may be presumptuous of me… but can… can I kiss you?”

And Ho-Tan grinned, amazed but also relieved that she didn’t have to ask. Her face flushed red, and she nodded.

“You can,” she said, smiling.

And so Vex leaned forwards slowly and kissed her. Their noses bumped together and they had to tilt their heads to stop it happening, putting their hands on each other’s shoulders and leaning close as their lips met. It was a slow, soft, gentle kiss, and Ho-Tan felt so peaceful in that moment, like everything was perfect. Because it was: everything was perfect.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and then Vex pulled away. He looked so beautiful, his cheeks flushed and a truly lovely smile on his face. He carefully ran his fingers through Ho-Tan’s hair, brushing it off of her face, and Ho-Tan smiled.

“Was… was that all right?” Vex asked, his voice faltering slightly, his fingers fumbling as he brushed his fingers through Ho-Tan’s long hair.

Ho-Tan decided to answer his question with another kiss. When she pulled away, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, “It was perfect, Vex. It was perfect.”

\---

Ho-Tan often thinks about that moment, always filling with happiness as she thinks of their perfect first kiss. It was just such a beautiful moment, one of such love and peacefulness and contentment.

She thinks about it now, as she cuddles up next to Vex in bed one night, her sleepy boyfriend’s head nodding against her shoulder.

“I love you,” she whispers, and she presses a kiss to Vex’s lips. She feels him smile, and he kisses her back.

“Love you too,” he mumbles, and they both drift off to sleep.


	9. Thirdwheeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Nine, Thirdwheeling: Your OTP plus a third wheel. Is it awkwardly quiet, or chaotically crazy?

With Pressley and Flowers out on a date and Trevor sulking about something, Ho-Tan, Vex and Choop are left to spend the evening together. Ho-Tan would rather like to spend some time alone with Vex, but she would feel bad about leaving Choop on his own (and she’s certain that Vex thinks the same thing). So, even though it is awkward and quite boring, the three of them sit together in one of the sitting rooms, sipping their drinks.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Ho-Tan says, attempting to sound cheerful.

Vex simply mumbles something, and Ho-Tan has to grab his glass as he falls asleep before he drops it. Choop smiles awkwardly and raises his glass.

“Yes, this is very nice,” he says, his voice as flat as Ho-Tan’s.

Ho-Tan tries to think of a topic of conversation. She supposes they could talk about today’s meeting, but that was boring enough at the time without talking about it again. Or they could talk about what might happen the next time they see the Chosen One, but they have all had that conversation many, many times. Or they could…

It turns out that Ho-Tan can’t think of anything to talk about. And Choop obviously can’t either, because he just sits there, drinking wine and staring at the fireplace. And Ho-Tan can honestly say that this is one of the most uncomfortably boring situations she has ever been in her whole life.

\---

When Vex wakes up, Ho-Tan and Choop are extremely relieved (because maybe Vex can think of something they can do to pass the time.

“What’s going on?” he asks, rubbing his eyes.

“Um… nothing, really,” Ho-Tan says, and Choop smiles when they both realise that her words are the truth.

Vex smiles groggily. “That’s nice. How long have I been asleep?”

“Just an hour or so,” Choop says.

“Really? Seemed like a lot longer.”

Ho-Tan and Choop glance at each other.

“Yes,” she says, “it did.”

\---

They kill a few hours by playing card games. But it turns out that the three of them only know one game, so they just play that one, over and over again. And Vex keeps nodding off and having to be nudged by Ho-Tan, and Choop is much better than both of them so he keeps winning and it’s just so boring.

In the end, they go back to sitting and doing nothing. At least that way Vex can have a sleep.

\---

The sounds of slamming doors and slightly hysterical giggling signal the return of Flowers and Pressley. They wander into the room, their faces red and rather unsteady on their feet. And they can’t seem to stop laughing. They’re probably drunk.

“We’re back!” Flowers cries, his voice slurring.

“Yes, we can see that,” Choop says, raising his eyebrows.

Pressley lurches sideways and nearly falls over. Flowers catches him and helps him stand upright again, and they both howl with laughter like the funniest thing has just happened. Yes, they are definitely drunk.

“How was wherever you went?” Vex asks.

“All right,” Pressley says, nodding his head a bit too violently.

“The play was really boring so we went to the tavern instead!” Flowers says, laughing and resting his arm on Pressley’s shoulder.

“So you had a date… in a tavern?” Choop says, clearly not impressed.

“Yes, I suppose we did,” Pressley says, grinning.

“And it was more interesting than the play would’ve been,” Flowers says.

Ho-Tan and Vex look at each other, and smile. He’s right there; plays are very boring. Even more boring than this evening (and that is saying something).

\---

Ho-Tan sighs as she gets into bed, pulling the bed sheets right up to her chin. Vex kicks off his slippers and then joins her under the covers, his nightcap sitting wonky on his head.

“That was a big sigh,” he says through a yawn. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Ho-Tan says, leaning her head against Vex’s shoulder. “I’m just bored.”

“Yes, this evening was rather dull, wasn’t it?” Vex says.

Ho-Tan raises her eyebrows. “You can say that again.”

“This evening was rather dull, wasn’t it?” Vex says, and he grins.

And Ho-Tan splutters with laughter and gives him a kiss.


	10. Flustered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Ten, Flustered: Your OTP being flustered. It could be one member, it could be both.

“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Vex asks, following Elf through the portal.

“I don’t see why not,” Choop says, struggling to carry the box containing the birthday cake.

“And there definitely isn’t anyone else at home?” Flowers says, adjusting his new multi-coloured robes.

“Nope, Debbie’s home alone,” Elf says. “Now be quiet, or we’ll wake her up.”

Obediently, the Elders are quiet as they exit the portal and walk into Debbie’s kitchen. The sun is only just starting to rise, so the room is quite dark, and Ho-Tan and Pressley walk into each other. They nearly fall, and have to cover their mouths to stop themselves laughing. Elf shushes them, and Ho-Tan and Pressley avoid looking at each other, lest they burst out laughing.

“Have you got everything you need?” Elf says, and everyone seems to glow in the blue light of the portal.

The Elders all look at each other, and then check the contents of the big boxes in their arms: Ho-Tan has a box of wrapped presents, Choop has the cake, Flowers has bunting and banners and party hats, Pressley has yet more presents, and Vex has candles and a stack of birthday cards written by many of the residents of Yonderland. They glance at each other, and then nod.

“We think so,” Choop says.

“Right then,” Elf says, and he and Nick the Stick close the portal. “Let’s get on with it before Debbie wakes up.”

And, with that, Operation: Debbie’s Birthday Party begins.

They still don’t completely grasp the concept of birthdays (as Nick rightfully pointed out, mentioning someone’s age in such a way is actually quite offensive), but the Elders do know that today is Debbie’s actual birthday. And they also know that birthdays mean a lot to people in Debbie’s world, so they want to get this gesture just right.

Choop carefully removes the birthday cake (made personally by Ho-Tan and Flowers; it’s a bit messy, but the thought is there) from its box, sticking the multicoloured candles into the top of it.

“It seems a waste to stick candles into it,” Choop mumbles, setting down a box of matches.

Vex shrugs his shoulders. “Tradition, old boy.”

As Choop mutters something under his breath, Vex and Ho-Tan lay out the cards and presents on the table. Choop and Vex spent ages last night wrapping the presents for Debbie, carefully tying ribbon around the wrapped packages and sticking a bow on top of each of them. On the other side of the room, Flowers and Pressley are hanging up the bunting and banners (also handmade; Pressley and Elf spent ages making them, constantly getting bugged by Nick and Trevor with suggestions). As she watches her friends stick a banner to the wall, something occurs to Ho-Tan.

“How is that sticking?” she asks, keeping her voice at a whisper.

“I found this in the draw over there,” Flowers says, throwing a packet over his shoulder. Ho-Tan manages to catch it and realises that Flowers has been using a strange product called Blu Tak. “And it’s not edible,” he adds, and Pressley spits out a lump of it.

“There,” Pressley says, sticking down the last corner. He and Flowers step backwards, showing the rest of the Elders their banner. “How does that look?”

Ho-Tan looks at it. The banner is wonky, and it reads:

**Happy Birtday, Debbie!**

“I think you’ve spelled birthday wrong,” Choop says.

“But it’s not important,” Ho-Tan adds as Pressley groans and slaps himself in the forehead.

Vex chuckles, and Ho-Tan squeezes his hand. He gives her a kiss.

Elf has gone out into the hallway, obviously watching out for Debbie. After all, they don’t want her to get up before they are ready – that would spoil the surprise.

“This is a nice idea, isn’t it?” Ho-Tan says, sitting down at the table and watching Flowers and Pressley hang up the bunting. “I mean, it’s hard work, but it’s worth it, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and Deb-beh definitely deserves it,” Vex says, letting Ho-Tan lean her head against his chest. “After everything the Chosen One has done for us, this really is the least we can do.”

Ho-Tan smiles and sighs contentedly – just before the banner falls off of the wall.

\---

Nearly an hour later, long after they have finished preparing the kitchen for Debbie’s birthday surprise, they hear footsteps upstairs. Debbie must be awake.

“She’s coming!” Elf hisses, rushing back into the kitchen.

They all scrabble to their feet, pulling silly party hats onto their heads and standing just out of view of the doorway. Vex grabs Ho-Tan’s hand, and she gives his hand a squeeze. They hear footsteps on the staircase, getting louder as Debbie gets closer. Choop fumbles with the matches, but manages to light the candles on Debbie’s cake. Elf rests Nick on the table, and climbs up after him to get a better view. Everyone seems to hold their breath, the moment of waiting surprisingly tense.

And then Debbie walks through the hallway, and she steps into the kitchen and—

“Happy birthday, Debbie!” they all cry, and Vex can be heard saying, “Deb-beh,” instead.

Debbie jumps, clearly startled, but a lovely smile appears on her face when she realises what is going on.

“What are you all doing here?” she says, grinning as Flowers rushes over and sticks a party hat on her head.

“It’s a birthday party, Debbie,” Elf says.

Choop picks up the birthday cake and hurries over to Debbie. “Quick, blow out your candles before they go out.”

Smiling, Debbie blows out all of the candles in one go. Ho-Tan inhales the lovely smell of the candle smoke, but Vex coughs instead.

“I can’t believe it,” Debbie says, staring around the room, cleanly taking in all of their gifts and decorations. “This is so lovely. Thank you all.”

Ho-Tan and Vex look at each other, grinning.

“I knew she’d love it,” Vex says, and Ho-Tan gives him a kiss.

\---

A while later, they are all sat in Debbie’s living room, having a rather odd breakfast of birthday cake and fizzy drinks. Vex has fallen asleep, Pressley, Choop and Flowers have become fascinated by a game show on the television and Elf and Nick are bickering about something or other. Which leaves Debbie and Ho-Tan sat together on the sofa, chatting and eating cake (which is actually delicious; Ho-Tan is clearly a better baker than she gives herself credit).

“So why are you alone on your birthday?” Ho-Tan asks, sipping her fizzy drink. “I thought birthdays were a sociable affair.”

“Well we usually always spend birthdays together,” Debbie says, and there’s a rather sad look in her eyes. “But the twins are on a school trip and Pete’s on a business trip that he really couldn’t cancel… so I’m alone. But it’s not that bad. I mean, I’m meeting up with some of my friends later for a meal… and, of course, I’ve got you lot.”

Ho-Tan feels her face go red, even her ears flushing. “It’s nothing, really. We just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for us.” She chuckles. “At least we got your birthday right this time.”

Debbie chuckles weakly and then pulls Ho-Tan into a hug. When she pulls away, her eyes are shining with tears.

“Thank you so much for this, all of you,” Debbie says, even though Ho-Tan is the only one focused on her. “I’m so grateful for this. Thank you so much.”

Ho-Tan smiles weakly, somewhat flustered. “It was nothing, Debbie. I’m… we’re so glad you’ve liked your birthday surprise.”

Debbie hugs her again. “I’ve loved it.”


	11. Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Eleven, Rest: Your OTP resting and/or sleeping together. They could be sleeping anywhere from at home in bed to out on a park bench.

If there’s a technique for not falling asleep during meetings, Vex doesn’t know it. More times than Ho-Tan can count, he nods off during a meeting about something, starting to snore as his head nods against Choop’s shoulder. Ho-Tan doesn’t blame him for falling asleep (after all, their meetings are always really boring; and Ho-Tan is the one who takes notes, so she knows better than anyone how dull their meetings are), and it always provides a source of amusement.

When Vex lets out his first snore, everyone stops talking. Debbie smiles, and Flowers and Pressley both chuckle. Ho-Tan grins, and her smile gets even bigger when she sees the look of exasperation on Choop’s face.

“Not again,” Choop says, raising his eyebrows.

“Is this normal?” Debbie asks Pressley, who can’t stop laughing.

He nods. “Yeah. And I can’t blame him.”

“These meetings are hardly the most exciting thing on Realm, are they?” Flowers says, grinning.

“That isn’t the most helpful attitude,” Choop says, and Flowers and Pressley try desperately hard not to laugh.

“Are you going to wake him up?” Debbie asks.

“Trust me, Debbie,” Choop says, his voice weary. “I know exactly what to do.”

Choop sighs, smiling fondly, and prods Vex in the shoulder. He jolts awake, staring blearily around the Chamber.

“Wh-What’s going on?” he mumbles, slightly dazed.

“You fell asleep,” Debbie says. Ho-Tan sees her share a glance with Elf; they both look bemused.

“Again,” Choop adds.

Vex’s smile is hilariously sheepish. “Sorry, old boy.”

He looks past Choop to Ho-Tan and grins. She smiles back. And when Flowers and Pressley finally give in to their hysterical laughter, Ho-Tan and Vex (and even Choop) start laughing too.

\---

After a long day spent ruling over Yonderland (‘code for doing nothing’ is how Debbie once put it), a tired Vex gets into bed. Ho-Tan joins him, kicking off her slippers as she gets under the covers.

Snuggling under the blankets, Ho-Tan rests her head against Vex’s shoulder. He smiles, his nightcap slipping sideways on his head.

“I’m exhausted,” Vex says, attempting to stifle a yawn.

“I never would have guessed,” Ho-Tan says, grinning.

Vex grins back, and kisses her forehead. Ho-Tan shuffles closer and kisses his nose. They both giggle, and finally their lips meet. It’s a sweet, soft kiss, and there is such a loving look in Vex’s eyes when he pulls away.

“Goodnight, Vex,” Ho-Tan whispers, switching the light off.

Vex yawns, and she can almost hear the smile in his voice as he whispers, “Night, Ho-Tan.”

\---

Cramped together on the floor in Debbie’s loft, no one gets much sleep. But they aren’t allowed to make any noise (in fact, Debbie came in earlier and told them off; if they make too much noise, they might wake up ~~Bob~~ Peter, and they don’t want him to come into the loft and discover them all here), so they all just lay awake in the dark, bored and restless.

There is barely any room, so the five of them are all squashed together. But at least cuddling means there is a bit more room than if everyone was separated. Flowers and Pressley are snuggling together, as are Vex and Ho-Tan. Choop is in the middle, clearly grateful for the extra space.

Ho-Tan is so tired, her eyes stinging and a pain in the back of her head, but she can’t sleep. After everything that has happened recently, what with Cuddly Dick’s betrayal and their exile, she just feels so tense all the time. Yes, it is safe and warm in Debbie’s loft, but she can’t help but worry about what is happening in her world.

But it does help to be cuddling up with Vex. If she ignores the uncomfortable floor and the presence of the other Elders, she can almost pretend that she and Vex are cuddling in her bed back at the Chamber of Elders. The key word being almost. Because her back hurts from lying on the wooden floor and Vex laying on it has made her arm go numb and it smells different and everything just feels wrong.

Vex is the first one to fall asleep. As Ho-Tan knows very well by now, Vex falls asleep extremely easily (although he startles easily too), so that doesn’t surprise her. He nods off with his face pressed against her shoulder, his fluffy hair tickling her neck.

Choop is second, snoring softly as he lies flat on his back. But Ho-Tan, Flowers and Pressley are still wide awake. Ho-Tan mainly because she feels so anxious, but those two mainly because Pressley doesn’t feel very well. Ever since he ate those things Debbie calls Christmas decorations this morning, he has felt dreadful. In fact, it was because he had to venture out of the loft to find a toilet that he even bumped into Peter in the first place. From the other side of the loft, she can hear his stomach gurgling.

Flowers whispers something, and Pressley replies with a pained groan. Ho-Tan sighs. Vex mumbles in his sleep. Choop snores. And she just stares into the darkness, tired yet wide awake.

When Ho-Tan finally falls asleep, her face is burrowed into Vex’s chest, her non-numb arm slung across his back. She dreams about how life was before they were all betrayed, her and Vex and the others all safe and happy and living in the Chamber of Elders like they should.

And when she wakes up, the disappointment nearly makes her cry.

\---

Night has fallen, but no one has gone to bed. In their makeshift campsite in the middle of the forest, the Elders sit squashed together on the sofa, wide awake. The moons and stars shine brightly in the sky, but they aren’t their only source of light. They have camping lights and torches dangling from tree branches and scattered all over the ground, illuminating themselves and the surrounding area. And even though no one with admit it, they’re a bit scared to turn the lights off.

“I don’t like it here,” Pressley mutters, his teeth chattering.

“You’re not the only one,” Ho-Tan says.

“I miss Debbie’s loft,” Flowers says, putting his arm around Pressley’s shoulders.

“It wasn’t comfortable,” Vex says, stretching his arms above his head. “But it was better than this.”

Choop sighs. “Anything would be better than this. Hiding out in our own land. It’s awful.”

“Does anyone want to go to sleep yet?” Ho-Tan asks, looking down at the sleeping bags Debbie gave them (getting the blasted things out of the bags was a nightmare; why do they come in such tiny bags?).

She turns her head left and right, looking at her fellow Elders. Anxiety flashes across their faces, and their answers—

“Not right now.”

“Not really.”

“I’m not that tired.”

“Nah, not for the moment.”

—Don’t surprise her in the slightest.

They might have solved the mystery of what they all thought was a wisp, but everyone still feels anxious to be in the forest – especially in the middle of the night. Which must be why all five of them won’t settle down or even turn the lights off, despite being exhausted.

So they don’t go to bed. They spend the entire night sat on the sofa, shivering with fear and cold, huddled together. Eventually, Ho-Tan falls asleep sitting up, holding hands with Pressley and resting her head against Vex’s shoulder.


	12. Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Twelve, Shopping: Your OTP shopping together. What are they shopping for? Are they just running errands, or are they buying gifts for each other?

“Are you sure about this?” Elf asks. He keeps his voice low, trying to talk only to Debbie, but Vex hears him.

Debbie looks a bit apprehensive, but she smiles. “Yeah, I am. We’ll be fine.”

“Right then,” he says. “See you later.”

And he and Nick the Stick go through the portal. There is a flash of blue light, and then the cupboard looks like the portal was never there. Debbie turns around and looks at the five Elders, who are all looking around the kitchen; Vex is especially interested in a shiny metal object with four slits in the top of it.

“What’s this?” Pressley asks, picking up a box of something called tampons.

Debbie goes red and snatches the box away. “It’s nothing important.”

Vex opens his mouth to speak, but Debbie cuts him off, somehow knowing what he was about to say. “And that’s a toaster. You put pieces of bread in it and it cooks them.”

“Fascinating,” Ho-Tan says, wandering over. As she studies the toaster, Vex smiles and puts his arm around her.

“Anyway, our train leaves in just over an hour. You just need to get changed first, and then we can head off,” Debbie says.

“Why do we need to change?” Pressley asks.

“Because you can’t wander around London dressed like that.”

“What’s wrong with our robes?” Choop says, slightly offended.

“They’re too scratchy,” Flowers mutters.

“Nothing,” Debbie says. “They’re just a bit… formal for this world.”

“Fair enough,” Vex says, looking himself (and the others) up and down.

“What have you got for us, then?” Ho-Tan asks. Vex smiles, knowing how his girlfriend likes fashion.

Debbie smiles. “You’ll see. And before you ask—” she adds, staring at Flowers. “—you have to wear something.”

As the five of them follow Debbie up the stairs, Flowers looks somewhat disappointed.

\---

“So me and Pete don’t really wear any of these clothes anymore,” Debbie says, walking into the room with a bundle of clothes in her arms. “And we were thinking of getting rid of them, to be honest. So you can have any of this lot, and you can keep them once we’re done, if you want.” She grins. “Who knows, you might start a new fashion trend in Yonderland!”

Ho-Tan leading the way (because she really likes clothes; Vex doesn’t understand why, so he assumes it just must be a thing women do), the five Elders dig through the pile of clothes, looking for something to wear. They each take what they like (Vex picks a pair of jeans and a tartan shirt), and then head off to get dressed in private.

Once they are all dressed, they regroup back in Debbie’s bedroom. Debbie looks at the clock, but they aren’t finished yet – they need to accessorise first. So the Elders, now wearing clothes deemed normal in Debbie’s world, search through the clothes pile for hats and belts and other accessories, wanting to finish off their outfits.

As Flowers puts on a bandana and Choop tries to attach a pair of braces to his trousers, Vex picks up what Debbie calls a beanie hat (although he doesn’t know what it has to do with beans, exactly), and swops it with his normal hat. And then he looks in the mirror, pleased by how the dark blue hat looks against his white curls.

“Does it suit me?” he says, glancing at Ho-Tan, who looks beautiful in a long skirt and a turquoise jumper.

She looks up from trying to fasten a bracelet around her wrist, and smiles. “Most definitely, Vex.

Vex smiles, his cheeks flushing. “Here, let me help you with that.”

His fingers fumbling slightly, Vex fastens the clasp on the bracelet for her. Behind him, Choop’s braces ping off of his waistband and smack Pressley across the face.

“Ow!” he cries, stumbling backwards into the wall.

As Flowers starts laughing and Pressley swats at him, Vex sees Debbie sigh. From the expression on her face, Debbie is probably wondering if Elf was right.

\---

They reach the train station just in time. During their rushed walk to the station, Debbie made sure to explain to them all how train stations in her world are different to theirs, but it still amazes Vex when he walks into the station. Everything is so big and bright and full of technology that he couldn’t even begin to understand, and Vex has never been more amazed at how different Debbie’s world is from their own.

Debbie bought the tickets on her computer (somehow), so they walk straight past the counter and up the stairs. Pressley’s trousers are too long for him, and he trips over the hem of his trousers as he walks up the steps. Luckily, Choop manages to stabilise him before he falls over.

“Careful,” Ho-Tan says, patting his shoulder.

Pressley smiles weakly. “Thank you.”

They have to put their tickets into a strange barrier thing (it sucks the ticket in, opens some doors and then spits the ticket out on the other side), and then they all walk through the barrier and onto the platform. And the five Elders stare at the multiple train tracks and the ugly things that must be trains in Debbie’s world, rather confused.

“These are your trains?” Flowers says, his eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Debbie says, putting the tickets back into her purse. “We stopped using steam trains decades ago. These are supposedly more efficient, but they… well, they’re not the same.”

Vex and Ho-Tan glance at each other.

“They’re certainly not,” Choop mutters, sitting down on a metal bench.

\---

On the train, they sit in a half-full carriage, in two rows of three seats that face each other. The floor is grimy and Vex wonders how long it has been since someone last cleaned this carriage.

“Is this normal?” Pressley asks, his hands clasped in his lap.

Debbie nods, grimacing. “Yeah, it is. Let’s just say that most people in this country hate the train service.”

“I don’t blame them,” Ho-Tan says, holding Vex’s hand.

“So, what sort of things can you shop for in London?” Choop asks, looking at the advertisements on the wall of the carriage.

“All sorts, really,” Debbie says. “I like to…”

There is probably an in depth discussion about shopping and London and buying things, but Vex doesn’t hear them. Because as they train judders along the track on its way to London, Vex drops off to sleep, his head nodding against Ho-Tan’s.

\---

London is massive. Vex has never seen a city so large.

“The whole of Yonderland could probably fit into this place,” he says, craning his neck around as he tries to take everything in.

“Well, you probably couldn’t,” Choop says.

Vex raises his eyebrows. “I was exaggerating.”

Choop smiles. “Of course you are.”

“Stop it, you two,” Ho-Tan says, stopping Vex and Choop bickering. But she is smiling; they all are, because they know how much the two friends like to bicker.

“Right then,” Debbie says, smiling as they walk into a shopping centre. “Let’s shop.”

\---

Two hours later, Vex is exhausted. His feet ache from walking around, so he flops onto a bench, needing a rest. He is joined by Pressley, who also looks rather tired.

“Who’d have thought that shopping could be so exhausting?” Pressley says, groaning.

The two of them sit there for ages, simply chatting and watching the hustle and bustle of London from the relative comfort of their bench. At one point, Flowers brings them both an ice cream cone, and they get to enjoy their favourite, delicious treat on Debbie’s side of the portal this time (at least until Vex gets brain freeze and Pressley gets scared by a wasp). Sometime later, Flowers shows Pressley a pair of very soft trousers he has just bought, whilst Ho-Tan grins and shows Vex the beautiful necklace Debbie helped her choose. And they both perk up when Choop presents them with a truly delicious piece of fudge.

In the end, neither Vex nor Pressley do much shopping. But that doesn’t matter, because they still get the experience of London – and get to see their friends and partners enjoying themselves.

\---

He falls asleep on the train. He must be asleep for most of the journey, because when Ho-Tan shakes his shoulder to wake him up, they are back at the station in Birmingham. Pressley must have fallen asleep too, because Flowers gives his shoulder a prod and he jumps.

“Don’t do that,” he moans, his words and tone reminding Vex of himself when the others make him jump.

They decide to get a taxi back to Debbie’s house (taxis have wheels in Debbie’s world), and soon they are all stood by the open portal, saying their goodbyes to Debbie.

“Thank you for the wonderful day out, Deb-beh,” Vex says, smiling.

“We should do it again sometime,” Ho-Tan says, and Debbie looks slightly worried by the suggestion.

“See you tomorrow,” Choop says.

And they head back through the portal into their own world.

\---

In Ho-Tan’s bedroom (they still aren’t officially sharing a room, but they spend most nights in his girlfriend’s room), she smiles as she looks through her purchases. Most of her interest is focused on the necklace she bought, which features a shiny blue gem as clear and bright as the sky.

“Isn’t it beautiful, Vex?” she says as Vex takes off his slippers and gets into bed.

“It is indeed,” Vex says, smiling. “Just like you.”

Ho-Tan blushes bright red and gives him a kiss. “Thank you.”

She takes off her dressing gown and slippers and joins him in bed. They snuggle up under the blankets, resting their heads together.

“Do you think the skirt I got from Debbie looked nice?” Ho-Tan asks.

Vex probably isn’t the best person to ask, given that he thinks that everything looks nice on Ho-Tan. But he still smiles and says, “Yes, it looked lovely. Deb-beh has good taste in clothes. And you should wear it again sometime.”

Ho-Tan grins and kisses him again. “Thank you, Vex.”

“No problem,” he says, yawning. “Goodnight, my dear.”

Ho-Tan gives him one more kiss, and then switches the light off. “Goodnight.”


	13. Our Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Thirteen, Our Song: Your OTP and music. Do they have a song? Do they sing? Do they dance?

None of the Elders can sing, but that doesn’t stop them doing it. They are all what Debbie lovingly calls ‘tone deaf’, but they still like to sing. They sing a lot: Flowers sings when he goes to parties, Pressley sings when he gets drunk, Choop sings when his favourite songs come on the radio and he can’t help but sing along, and Vex and Ho-Tan both sing when they’re happy, and they often dance to the music too. Even Trevor likes to sing, but he sounds like someone singing underwater.

Basically, their inability to sing doesn’t stop the lot of them from enjoying themselves. And why should it?

\---

On the morning of Flowers’ birthday (the idea of birthdays still seems odd to them all, but after Debbie’s birthday party, it seems like a good idea), Ho-Tan and the others meet up in the Chamber. They’re all still wearing their pyjamas, Pressley still barefoot with his curler in his hair (he obviously snuck out of the room as quickly as possible to avoid waking Flowers), and none of them can stop yawning.

“It’s too early,” Choop says through a yawn.

“Too early,” Vex echoes, rubbing his eyes.

Pressley yawns. “I know. But we need to get everything ready before he wakes up.”

Ho-Tan smiles and squeezes his arm. She knows how much he wants this to be perfect for Flowers; she is sure she wants this to be a perfect birthday for her best friend almost as much as Pressley does for his partner.

“Come on then,” she says, nudging Vex when she sees his eyes drooping. “Let’s get this place ready.”

They split into pairs, Vex and Ho-Tan heading into the kitchen while Choop and Pressley decorate the Chamber. In the kitchen, Vex leans against the counter and starts to fall asleep, so Ho-Tan nudges him again.

“Vex, wake up,” she whispers.

He opens his eyes, smiling groggily. “Sorry.”

Knowing he isn’t going to stay awake, Ho-Tan rummages around the cupboards until she finds something to help him stay awake: a bottle of Essence of Red Bull. The scent glands of the Sacred Red Bull really are an acquired taste, but it doesn’t wonders for keeping you awake.

Vex grimaces when he sees the bottle. “Ugh. Does it have to be that?”

“I’m afraid so,” Ho-Tan says, using the pipette to squeeze a few drops of the sticky green liquid into a glass of water. It slowly disperses, turning the water a sickly shade of green.

Vex takes the glass and takes a sip. He groans. “It’s as disgusting as ever.”

She smiles. “Perfect. That means its working.”

To make it fair, she drinks some too, screwing her face up at the overwhelmingly bitter taste.

“Well, it still tastes better than coffee,” she says.

Vex grins. “Anything is better than coffee.”

Now more awake, they actually start preparing for the birthday party. They take the birthday cake out of the refrigerator, and Ho-Tan is still quite impressed by her icing skills. Vex sticks some candles into the cake, and Ho-Tan grabs a bottle of Flowers’ favourite alcohol. And then they head back into the Chamber.

Choop and Pressley have done a good job at decorating, covering the place in balloons and banners. It looks wonderful, and Ho-Tan smiles; Flowers is going to love it.

“Good job,” Vex says.

Choop and Pressley smile.

“Thank you,” Pressley says.

“He’s coming!” Trevor cries from his position near the door.

“Light the candles!” Vex hisses, and they all scrabble into position.

Choop lights the candles on the cake, and Pressley switches off the lights. They awkwardly climb into their seats, and listen for Flowers’ footsteps.

“What’s going on?” Flowers says when he walks into the dark room.

And then the lights switch on and they all cry, “Happy birthday!”

And as Flowers stares at them, they start to sing.

_Happy birthday at you_

_Happy birthday at you_

_Happy birthday dear Flowers_

_Happy birthday at you!_

Their voices are off-key and warbling, but Flowers grins and looks absolutely delighted.

“Thank you,” he says, and he takes a deep breath and blows out the candles. He kisses Pressley and gives Ho-Tan’s hand a squeeze. “This is wonderful. Thank you so much.”

“You’re most welcome,” Choop says, smiling. “And, because it’s your birthday, let’s just say we are going to be a bit more lenient today about the ‘keep your robes on’ rule.”

When Flowers realises what he means, he smiles. And then he stands up and casts off his robes.

\---

One of Flowers’ birthday presents was festival tickets, so a few days after his birthday, he invites Ho-Tan to the festival. Pressley and Choop don’t really like festivals, and Vex hates loud music, so Ho-Tan is the obvious companion. And she loves spending time with her best friend, so Ho-Tan agrees.

They spend all day at the festival, drinking mead and listening to the various acts perform their wonderful songs. They get rather drunk, to the point that they keep tripping over and everything is suddenly hilarious. In fact, when the festival is over, they are far too drunk to safely make it home in the dark, to they take a taxi. In the taxi, Ho-Tan leans her head against his shoulder and they drunkenly sing songs from the festival – at least, until the taxi driver asks them to shut up.

When she and Flowers finally get home, it is dark inside the building; everyone else has clearly gone to bed. They wander through the quiet corridors, their stumbling footsteps very loud in the near silence.

“You’re a great friend, d’you know that?” he slurs, leaning against her.

Ho-Tan stumbles slightly as she struggles to support his weight, but slips an arm around Flowers’ waist and manages to keep them both upright. She leans her head against Flowers’ shoulder, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to laugh.

“So’re you,” she mumbles, and Flowers giggles. “Today w-was fun.”

They split up at the corridor that leads to their bedrooms. Flowers grins and pats Ho-Tan’s shoulder.

“Night, Ho-Tan,” he says, nearly falling over the moment he lets go of her. “Will you g-get back to your room all right?”

“I think so,” Ho-Tan says, smiling. Everything seems to be spinning, but she can remember they way back to her bedchamber. “Night.”

They wave at each other, and then head off in opposite directions. Now she isn’t holding onto someone, Ho-Tan finds it harder to stay upright; as she staggers along, she lurches from side to side, eventually tripping over her robes and stumbling into the wall. Her legs give way and she slides to the ground, dizzy. And Ho-Tan, showing just how drunk she is, bursts out laughing.

“What’s going on?”

Ho-Tan looks up, and manages to focus her eyes on Choop, who is sticking his head out of his bedroom door. He looks half asleep and annoyed, and Ho-Tan grins bashfully.

“Fell over,” she says, her voice wobbling with giggles.

“I gathered that,” Choop says. He leaves his room and approaches her, holding out a hand. Ho-Tan takes his hand and he helps her to her feet; she wobbles unsteadily and has to lean her back against the wall before she falls over again. “There you are. I assume Flowers is like this too.”

She shakes her head. “No, he’s worse. H-He had lots more wine than m-me.”

Choop sighs, smiling fondly. “I bet he has. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

He grasps her arm just above her elbow, and steers Ho-Tan along the corridor. When they reach Ho-Tan’s bedchamber, Choop knocks on the door. A tired-looking Vex opens it, and his eyes widen when he looks at them both.

“Hello, Vex,” Ho-Tan says, grinning.

He smiles. “Did you have a good time?”

“How did you know?” she says.

Vex shrugs his shoulders. “Just a lucky guess, I suppose.”

He thanks Choop for looking after her, and then puts his arm around Ho-Tan and helps her across the room and onto the bed. Ho-Tan manages to kick off her shoes, and Vex helps her get under the blankets.

“Thanks, Vex,” she mumbles, smiling.

She falls asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow. She dreams of singing and dancing to the music at the festival, everything bright and colourful as she drinks mead with Flowers.

When she awakes, she has a horrendous hangover, but Vex is quick to give her a glass of water and some painkillers. She snuggles against him, screwing her eyes up.

“I don’t think I’ll be doing that again for a while,” she moans, and Vex kisses her forehead.

“I don’t blame you.”


	14. Stargazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Fourteen, Stargazing: Your OTP stargazing. Where are they doing this? Are they out camping? Are they sitting on a rooftop? What constellations are they looking at?

Night time in Yonderland is a peaceful time. Yes, there are creatures in the forests that make night time extremely dangerous, but that’s why Ho-Tan never goes into the forest at night. But anyway, ignoring the monsters, night time is very quiet and peaceful.

The night sky is beautiful, the sky jet black and patterned with dazzling white stars. And then there are the three moons, which glow as though they emit light (although Ho-Tan knows that isn’t the case), meaning that you can often find your way at night guided by the light of just the moons and the stars.

One of the moons is a permanent crescent, a constant reminder of the time Imperatrix’s robot went rogue and almost destroyed the realm. But the realm wasn’t destroyed, and Imperatrix is dead and everything is safe now. Although the slightly paranoid part of Ho-Tan keeps wondering just how long the peace will last.

\---

In Debbie’s loft, the slanted ceiling (shaped because the roof is triangular for some reason) has a window in it. The view is less than spectacular, simply showing bricked houses with strange shaped roofs, with small patches of green which Ho-Tan knows are small gardens. It all seems so industrial, even though she knows this sort of area is actually known as ‘suburban’. She can only wonder what an urban area looks like.

The view may be bland, but there is little else to do in this loft. So as Vex puts on Debbie’s clothes and Flowers flicks through a book of photographs and Pressley eats the things Debbie called Christmas decorations and Choop tries to get his hairstyle back to normal, Ho-Tan finds herself looking out of the window an awful lot. If for no other reason than it distracts her from what is going on in their world.

The slanted window has no curtains or blinds, so they have to leave it as it is when night falls. This means that the orange light from the lampposts outside shines into the loft space, giving everything a sickly orange glow. It is too light for them all to sleep, so they all develop ways to block out the light. Pressley and Flowers pull their blankets right over their heads, Choop puts a pillow over his eyes, and Vex simply burrows his face into Ho-Tan’s neck. This must work, because they all gradually drop off to sleep, until all Ho-Tan can hear is deep, slow breathes and the occasional snore (and Choop is the one who snores; Ho-Tan makes sure to note this, because Choop and Vex spent yesterday bickering about who is the snorer among them).

But Ho-Tan doesn’t fall asleep, because she can’t. she may be exhausted, but she is also wide awake. So she lies on her back with Vex’s face pressed against the area where her neck meets her shoulder, her arm around her sleeping partner, staring up at the ceiling. More specifically, she stares out of the window; lying at this angle, she is in the perfect position to look out of the window.

The streetlights turn off at midnight, plunging them into darkness. Ho-Tan suddenly gets a perfect view of the night sky. The sky is black (or is it very dark blue?), and the many, many stars seem to twinkle, just like in her world. There is only one moon, and it glows so brightly that Ho-Tan can actually see the craters on its surface. It is just so beautiful… and so much like home.

Her eyes fill with tears, blurring her vision. She blinks and they dribble across her temples and into her ears, clearing her vision again. And Ho-Tan stares at the sky as she cries silently, wishing they could just go home.

\---

The night they return to the Chamber of Elders, everyone is nearly crying as they wander around the building. This place is their home, and it is so wonderful to be back. Yes, everything is different since the Overlords decided to completely trash the place, but they can soon tidy the place up. And then, hopefully, they can finally return to normality.

Thankfully, Ho-Tan’s bedchamber is untouched; obviously, no one lived in here. Vex’s room is another story (his belongings have been vandalised or outright thrown away), so it looks like he will be living with her for the foreseeable future. Not that that’s really a problem, because they share a bed most nights these days, and have been sleeping in the forest with the other Elders for the last few weeks.

“At least they didn’t get my watch,” Vex says, tapping the gold wristwatch that seems to be permanently around his wrist. He treasures the watch Ho-Tan bought him, and never lets it out of his sight.

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Vex is obviously devastated that so many of his things are ruined or gone, but is trying to hide it. Ho-Tan sighs and presses a kiss to his forehead. Vex smiles weakly and kisses her lips.

When she goes to bed Ho-Tan falls asleep quickly for the first time in weeks, feeling so safe and comfortable in her big soft bed, her boyfriend’s arms around her. She dreams about all the good times she has had with Vex and their friends, and there is probably a smile on her sleeping face.

Ho-Tan awakes in the middle of the night, something pulling her out of the lovely dream. She groans and rolls over, and finds herself eye-to-eye with Vex. He smiles weakly, his face paler than ever in the near darkness.

“Did I wake you?” he whispers.

“Don’t think so,” Ho-Tan says, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. “Why are you awake?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Vex says. “My back is playing up again. I don’t think lying on such a soft surface is helping.”

“You poor thing,” Ho-Tan says, knowing that their constant camping in the last few weeks has really hurt Vex’s already bad back. “Do you want to take something for the pain?”

“I think so,” Vex says, sitting up. “And I think I need to sit up for a bit.”

As Vex wanders around the room, his hands pressed against his lower back and his face contorted into a grimace, Ho-Tan locates the packet of painkillers she bought from Wizard Bradley’s shop and pours a glass of water. She hands Vex two tablets and the water, yawning again.

“Thanks,” Vex says, swallowing the tablets. “Sorry about this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ho-Tan says. “Where do you want to sit?”

Vex shrugs his shoulders, and then grimaces. “I don’t know. Maybe the balcony.”

She smiles, liking that choice. “Yes, let’s go there.”

So they soon find themselves sat on the balcony, staring out at the night time landscape. Vex smiles and squeezes Ho-Tan’s hand. She squeezes back, once again taken in by the beauty of Yonderland at night.

“It’s good to be home, isn’t it?” Vex says.

Ho-Tan smiles. “Yes, it’s good to be home.”


	15. Rainy Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Fifteen, Rainy Day: Your OTP on a rainy day. How do they spend the time? Cuddling up with a movie? Playing video games? Watching the rain?

It rains a lot in Yonderland. There are many days in which the beautiful blue sky starts to cloud over, only for rain to pour down on them all. And the rain well and truly soaks everyone who is misfortunate to be outside at the time, the low lying land often flooding from the rain.

And then there are the cloudbursts, which really are the bane of everyone’s lives. Mainly because they occur to quickly, and come out of nowhere. One minute, you can be out sunbathing on a warm day when they sky is clear, and the next there is a loud rumble and the sky is covered with clouds and you get drenched in rain.

Rain is rather annoying, but lots of people try to see the positives in the situation. Such as Vex, who always points out how the rain helps make the landscape so green and vibrant. And Ho-Tan loves that he does that, trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

She supposes that it is just one of the many reasons why she loves him.

\---

To be fair, it rains a lot in Debbie’s world too. Although it appears that different places in her world are more prone to rain than others.

“Yeah, it rains a lot in England,” Debbie says one day, peeling off a strange coat that doesn’t get wet when rained on (“Is it magic?” Pressley asked once; Debbie sighed, “No, it’s just waterproof.”) “But other places have it worse.”

“Such as the dreaded Scot-land?” Flowers says, and the Elders all shudder; being reminded of that time in everyone’s lives is not a nice thing.

Debbie gives him a look. “Yeah, like Scotland. But other countries get loads of rain. Some places even get Monsoons, when it rains really heavily for weeks at a time.”

Ho-Tan glances at Vex. He pulls a face, looking as disturbed as she feels.

“That sounds… unpleasant,” she says.

“So your homeland isn’t the only place that gets spontaneous rain?” Choop asks.

Debbie nods. “Yeah, pretty much the whole planet gets downpours from time to time.”

“Do you have a way to predict this?” Vex asks.

“Well, yeah, we have weather forecasts,” Debbie says. “But they’re not very reliable. They’re probably wrong about twenty percent of the time.”

Choop raises his eyebrows. “Really? That isn’t a very good statistic.”

“I mean, we have weather forecasts too,” Trevor says. “But yours don’t appear much more accurate than ours.”

“And given how you always speak of how your world is more technologically advanced than ours, Deb-beh,” Vex says, and Debbie sighs. “You would think that you would have a better grasp on your weather.”

Debbie doesn’t look impressed. She throws her wet coat on the floor and struggles out of her rubber boots (she calls them ‘wellies’ for some reason), a frown forming on her face.

“Just for once, can we get on with the meeting you’ve dragged me too even though it’s chucking it down outside, and not badmouth my world?” she says. “Which, incidentally, has more tech than you lot could dream of. Such as the highly technical remote control or vacuum cleaner.”

Ho-Tan looks at Vex, shocked (and amused) by the Chosen One’s outburst. Beside her, Flowers looks like he’s about to burst out laughing. Choop gives Debbie a strained smile.

“Of course, Debbie. Now, can Ho-Tan please read the minutes from our last meeting?”

And as Ho-Tan scrabbles for her leather bound notebook, she spots Flowers muffling laughter into a handkerchief Pressley just shoved in his mouth.

\---

One day, Yonderland is having one of its cloudbursts, and Debbie refuses point blank to go through the portal.

“She basically said ‘no way’,” Elf says, putting on a bad (and some would say offensive) impression of Debbie. “’I’m not getting soaked just to go and have a pointless meeting with you lot. Has anything important happened?’ And when I told her that you lot just wanted a chat, she said she wasn’t coming. So, yeah, that’s why Debbie isn’t here.”

“Honestly,” Choop huffs.

“Maybe we should stop calling Debbie all the way here unless it’s actually important,” Pressley suggests.

Choop looks at him like he has made a very silly suggestion. “No, I don’t think we will be doing that.”

Pressley sighs and takes a swig from his hip flask.

“Well, whatever we do, Debbie isn’t coming,” Trevor says.

“What should we do, brothers and sisters?” Flowers asks, and Ho-Tan grins, still pleased whenever he says that.

“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you,” Vex says. “But I think it might be time for us to visit Deb-beh for once.”

Pressley gasps. “You mean… an outing?”

Vex grins and nods. “Yes, an outing.”

“That is a very good idea,” Choop says. “Yes, let’s pay Debbie a visit.”

\---

And that is how the Elders all find themselves exiting the portal into Debbie’s kitchen. Soaked through from the cloudburst, they pull off their soaking overcoats, shivering. Ho-Tan’s hair has stuck to her face, and she has to jerk her head to the side to flick her hair out of her eyes. Her soaking wet hair sprays Choop with droplets of water, and he grimaces.

“Do you mind, Ho-Tan?” he mutters, his normally puffy, styled hair stuck flat to his head.

Ho-Tan grins sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Where is Debbie?” Pressley asks, grabbing Flowers by the wrist to stop him removing his robes. “Just your overcoat, Flowers.”

Flowers looks most unimpressed, and Ho-Tan offers a sympathetic smile.

“Yes, where is Deb-beh?” Vex says, exchanging his rain hat for his normal one.

“She should be here,” Elf says, his head obscured by the strange umbrella thing obviously given to him by Debbie. “She’s probably upstairs.”

“She’s probably having a shower,” mutters Nick the Stick.

“Ha ha,” Elf says, not impressed. “Well, I think she should be downstairs in a while. I’d just wait here for her to turn up.”

So they do. The Elders sit down in the living room, whilst Elf helps himself to biscuits in the kitchen. Flowers switches on the television, and they all marvel at the magic that is a remote control.

“Are you sure it’s not magic?” Pressley says.

Ho-Tan smiles and rests her head against Vex’s shoulder. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that magic doesn’t exist in this world.”

Their conversation comes to an abrupt holt when Debbie walks into the room. Wearing a dressing gown with her hair wrapped up in a towel, Debbie stares at them.

“What on Earth are you all doing here?”

Choop grins as the other Elders start laughing. “It’s a long story.”


	16. Super Powers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Sixteen, Super Powers: An AU in which your OTP has super powers. Are they a hero/sidekick duo? Are they archenemies? Are they both villains?

It’s Debbie’s fault. Ever since she came to a meeting talking about a film she just went to see, she has had the Elders talking constantly about superheroes. And then she showed them some films when they went to visit her house, and they have all become somewhat obsessed.

One day, they find themselves talking about superheroes when they should be having a meeting about an important issue (whether or not someone has lost the key to the back door). Ho-Tan grins, scribbling down notes in the back of her leather notebook as they all chat, amused.

“So, if you could have a superpower, what would it be?” Choop asks.

“I quite like invisibility,” Flowers says, grinning and adjusting his robes. “That way I can cast off my robes and no one would ever yell at me, because they wouldn’t be able to tell.”

Vex rolls his eyes and Ho-Tan giggles. Pressley smiles fondly and squeezes his hand.

“I like the ability to fly,” Pressley says. “It must be better than having to walk everywhere.”

Ho-Tan looks at his walking stick, knowing Pressley often finds walking very uncomfortable. It seems like a pretty sensible choice for him.

“What about you, Vex?” Choop asks, and Vex jumps.

“Sorry,” he says. “I was zoned out there.”

Ho-Tan smiles. “We noticed.”

“So, what would you choose as your power?”

Vex shrugs. “I’m not entirely sure. Maybe being able to run really fast, because then I can just leg it if something makes me jump.”

Ho-Tan looks at him, smiling sadly. She wishes she could help him stop being so jumpy, but that’s just the way he is.

“What’s your choice, Ho-Tan?” Pressley asks.

She looks down at her notebook, where she has been doodling pictures of her fellow Elders performing their chosen superpowers. Memories swirl through her mind, memories of wishes and Pipple Trees, and she knows what her power would be. Her face starts to blush, her hair falling forwards across her eyes.

“Ho-Tan?” Vex says, soft and tentative.

“Um… well, I would sort of like to be able to change my appearance,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “You know, so my body doesn’t make me feel so… anxious.”

The other Elders look at her and her face burns. “Sorry…”

Vex leans across Choop and squeezes her hand; Flowers gives her shoulder a pat.

“Don’t be, Ho-Tan,” Choop says, giving her a caring smile. “We all wish things could be easier for you.”

She smiles, hoping she won’t start crying. “Thank you.”

But then she clears her throat and attempts to get them all back on track. “So, Choop, what would your superpower be?”

“What about a way to make sure my hair always stays in this style?” he suggests, smiling. “That way it can never get ruined by the rain or the wind.”

They all look at him and burst out laughing.

“What?” Choop says, confused (but also smiling).

But as they all laugh and Ho-Tan adds a doodle of him to her notebook, Choop starts to laugh too.


	17. Double Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Seventeen, Double Date: Your OTP going on a double date with two of their friends. Are they out to dinner? A movie? What’s the other couple like? Do they get along well with your OTP?

“How did your date go the other night?” Debbie asks, adding another spoonful of sugar to her cup of tea.

Ho-Tan smiles, remembering her date night with Vex on Tuesday. “It was brilliant. Vex took me to this new restaurant that serves food based on all the different delicacies in your world.” In the last few months, lots of places in Yonderland have started selling products based on things you can get on Debbie’s side of the portal; from what she’s seen, they’re selling very well. “The food was delicious and we had a great time.”

“That’s good,” Debbie says. “I love date nights.”

“Me too. Although, sometimes… you see, we go out on a date every week, and it sometimes feels a bit… repetitive,” Ho-Tan says, feeling a bit bad for even saying it. “It doesn’t bore me to go out with Vex, far from it, but I wonder if there’s something we can do to make our date nights a bit… different.”

Debbie smiles. “I understand. There are ways you can make dates more varied. But I think my all time favourite is a double date.”

“A double date?” Ho-Tan says, puzzled. She doesn’t know how many times this happens, with Debbie saying a phrase that makes no sense to her or anyone else from Yonderland. “What’s that?”

“It’s when a couple go out with another couple on a date nights, and both couples spend time together. I’ve been on a few before. They’re very fun, especially if you get on very well with the other couple.”

“A double date,” Ho-Tan repeats, smiling. “I like the sound of that.”

“Brilliant!” Debbie says. “Do you know who you’d like to go with?”

“Yes, I do,” she says. After all, there’s only one other couple she would want to go with…

\---

Ho-Tan grabs Flowers’ arm as they leave the Chamber after a particularly long and boring meeting.

“Can I talk to you about something?” she asks.

Flowers’ nods. “Of course.”

The two best friends duck into one of the many sitting rooms, and sit side by side on a large sofa.

“What is it?” Flowers’ says.

“When did you and Pressley last go out on a date night?

Flowers frowns, clearly thinking hard. “Um… maybe a few weeks ago? I think. Why do you ask?”

Now he has said it, Ho-Tan also remembers the last date he and Pressley had. Well, she didn’t go with them, but she remembers them returning. They were both very drunk and stumbled around, giggling hysterically at the slightest thing and driving Choop mad. It was hilarious.

“I was wondering if you want to go on one next Tuesday,” she says.

“But isn’t that your and Vex’s night?”

“Exactly. Would you like to come on a double date with us?”

When Flowers just stares blankly at her, Ho-Tan grins, suddenly feeling a lot like Debbie. And, just as Debbie did only a few hours ago, Ho-Tan slowly explains the concept of double dates to her friend.

“So… we go out for dates at the same time, but spend time together?”

She smiles. “Yes, that’s what makes it different. So, would you like to come on a double date with us? I think it’ll be fun.”

Flowers nods, grinning. “Yes, that sounds like a great idea. I’d love to.”

Ho-Tan gives him a hug. “That’s brilliant!”

And as Ho-Tan holds her best friend’s hand, they set off to find Vex and Pressley and tell them about their plan.

\---

“So, next time we have a date night, these two will come with us?” Vex says, looking slightly confused as he recaps what Ho-Tan just told him.

She nods. “Yes. A double date. Debbie said it’s a great way to make your dates a bit… different.”

“Ah, well, Deb-beh knows what she’s talking about, doesn’t she?” he says (beside him, Pressley and Flowers snort with laughter as, once again, he mispronounces Debbie’s name).

“Yes, she really does,” Pressley says. “After all, she’s the Chosen One for a reason.”

“Indeed,” Vex says. “Well, the idea seems a bit strange to me, but why not? I think we should do it. Let’s have a double date.”

Ho-Tan grins and kisses his cheek. “Thank you, Vex. I’m sure it’ll be brilliant.”

“And if it does all go horribly wrong, at least we’ll have something to talk about,” Flowers says.

“Yes, random anecdotes are a favourite of ours,” Pressley says as Flowers puts his arm around his shoulders.

“Trust me,” Ho-Tan says, remembering the many, many anecdotes those two have told her over the years. “I know.”

\---

On Tuesday, Ho-Tan, Vex, Pressley and Flowers head out for their double date. Ho-Tan had wondered if Choop felt left out, but he said he was more than happy to have the place to himself for the night. So she didn’t feel guilty about leaving Choop and Trevor behind as the four of them left.

They take a taxi into town, and the journey seems a lot smoother (and quicker) now the taxis have wheels on them. As they travel, Ho-Tan leans against Vex and chats to Pressley, who is doing the same to Flowers. She loves spending time with her fellow Elders, especially in situations like this.

They head to the same restaurant she and Vex visited last week, the one that serves food from Debbie’s side of the portal.

“I had a curry last time,” Ho-Tan says. “And I’m thinking of having an even spicier on this time.”

“I’ve heard about them,” Pressley says. “They sound delicious. I certainly need to try one.”

“What if you don’t like spice?” Flowers asks. “Because spicy food really hurts my stomach.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vex says. “There’s lots of food to choose from. But you can get non-spicy curries if you still want to try one. That’s the wonderful thing about Deb-beh’s world; there are so many cultures to choose from that you can try pretty much anything to eat. It’s brilliant.”

Pressley grins. “It sounds wonderful. I can’t wait.”

Ho-Tan smiles. “Neither can I.”

\---

After several hours in the restaurant, they decide to head back to the Chamber. Everyone is comfortably drunk (other than Pressley, who is nearly falling asleep from drinking so much), and they’ve had such a lovely evening.

Sure enough, Pressley falls asleep in the taxi on the way home. Ho-Tan is pretty groggy herself, but still cuddles up to Vex, loving her boyfriend so much.

“That was a delicious meal,” Flowers says. “But I wish they weren’t so insistent about keeping your robes on.”

Vex raises his eyebrows. “It’s a restaurant, Flowers. You can’t walk around naked in a restaurant.”

Flowers sighs huffily, but he’s smiling. “I know. I know.”

\---

When they get home, they all head straight to bed, too tired to stay up any longer. In her bedroom, Ho-Tan gets changed as quickly as possible and climbs into bed, so tired she can barely stay awake.

“Tired, by any chance?” Vex says, smiling.

“Of course I am. What about you?”

“Yeah, I’m tired too.”

Once he is dressed, Vex joins her in bed. They cuddle up together, so tired. Ho-Tan gives Vex a kiss and he puts his arm around her.

“Goodnight, Ho-Tan.”

She smiles. “Night, Vex.”

Just before she falls asleep, Ho-Tan reminds herself to thank Debbie for the idea. Double dates truly are a brilliant idea.


End file.
